


Down Under

by Starlight1395



Series: Requests From You [6]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Bullying, Flashbacks, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Min The Bully isn't an idol don't worry, OCs as the bullies, Past Suicide, gay slurs, past self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-01 14:32:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16766998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starlight1395/pseuds/Starlight1395
Summary: When Felix heard the new student was American, he was excited. It had been almost four years since he moved to Korea, and in that time he rarely had the opportunity to speak English. Somehow, however, he managed to turn the new kid against him the second they make eye contact.Felix's friends quickly turn against him, but he doesn't know why. Was it something he did? Something he said? Lucky, he found solace with the loud boy that ate lunch in the manga section of school's library and his friends.Unfortunately, the shoves and glares were only just the beginning. Felix is about to face a whole new set of challenges that might end up breaking him entirely.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A request from Mxgic Sparklez!

“Did you hear? There’s going to be a new student coming in today!” Felix’s friend said excitedly. Felix perked up instantly. They went to a small school, so the any kind of news was big news, and news of a new student was the biggest of all.

“Which class are they going to be in?” He asked, hoping for theirs.

“Ours!” His other friend chimed in, grinning wide. Felix was lucky to have his two best friends in the same class as him. His third friend was in another class, so they almost never saw him but they still texted occasionally and hung out on weekends.

“Oh crap, teacher alert!” Someone called and everyone scrambled to their seats. The teacher walked in, followed by a student no one had seen before. He was wearing the uniform, but it somehow looked wrong on him. He was tall and muscular, looking more like a senior than a sophomore. His hair was dyed a bright red and he had several piercings, including one in his eyebrow.

“Cool…” Felix thought as he looked at the new kid.

“Everyone, this is Minhyuk. He just moved here from the US so take care of him.” their teacher introduced him and he smiled wide.

“Nice to meet everyone,” he said, and Felix could see a flash of silver on his tongue. His words were heavily accented, but that made Felix want to befriend him even more. “Call me Min, okay?”

“Alright Min, there’s a seat behind Felix that’s open.” The teacher said before turning to the computer and bringing up the lesson for that day. The new student moved to take his seat, and Felix turned in his to say hi.

“Hey Min,” He said, his accent thick. He only tripped up in his Korean occasionally now, but his English was still pretty good. He knew one day it would start to switch, like it had with the senior from Australia, Chan. He was excited to talk his native tongue with a classmate. “My name is Felix. It’s nice ta meetcha.” He smiled wide.

“Australian, huh?” Min asked instead of returning the greeting. He raised his pierced bow, looking Felix up and down. Felix suddenly felt two inches tall. He spun back around in his chair and tried to focus on the board, not sure why he was getting such weird vibes from the new kid.

* * *

  
“Hey, Min asked to eat lunch with us.” Felix’s one friend said with a grin.

“Really?” Felix still wasn’t able to shake the uneasy feeling from class that morning. All through the lesson, he could feel Min’s eyes burning a hole through the back of his head, but he had no idea why.

“Yeah, said he wanted to get to know us.” The friend continued, walking towards the cafeteria.

“Oh, okay.” Felix smiled. Maybe he was wrong about Min. Maybe he just misread the situation. He remembered when he first moved, back in the sixth grade. It was scary, and hard to make friends. He felt that Min was a little lucky, coming to a new school as a teenager, rather than a kid. People tend to care less, and kids can be mean about things they don’t understand - something he found out the hard way.

“Come on!”

“Ah, I left my lunch in my locker,” Felix said, realizing his backpack was lighter than usual. “You go ahead, I’ll catch up.”

“Sounds good man.” His friend said with a grin, slapping him on the back playfully and all but sprinted away. Felix shook his head and went to his locker. It only took a few moments to grab his lunch and drop off the books he didn’t need anymore, so by the time he made it to their usual lunch table, he was surprised to see the atmosphere was weird.

“Oh… you’re here.” His friend said, sounding strained.

“Yeah, I just had to grab my lunch.” he said, trying to shake the uneasy feeling that had somehow doubled since that morning.

“Okay…” No one said anything else as he sat down and dug through the paper bag he had packed that morning.

He ate in silence, noticing how his friends would shoot him looks out of the corner of their eyes. He finished quickly and stood, mumbling something about going to the library and exiting. He didn’t understand. He tried to think back - maybe he had said something in the time between class and lunch that could have upset everyone?

The bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch period. Felix went to his class, his mind still racing. He swallowed back a frown and faced the rest of the day. Things were weird now, but by tomorrow everything will have blown over, right?

* * *

  
Felix didn’t make a sound as he was slammed into the lockers. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and continued on his way to class.

It had been almost a month, and things had not gotten better. In fact, they’ve just continued to escalate. His friends decided there was something wrong with him, and he didn’t understand why. He hadn’t done anything wrong, so why were they pushing him into lockers and shooting him dirty looks in class?

He sat alone now. His friends took empty seats across the room, leaving a very obvious ring of empty chairs around the freckled boy. If his teacher noticed, she didn’t say anything. He kept his head down as the lesson went on, trying his best to take notes with the crappy pen he had found in the hall. His pencil case mysteriously vanished, along with his favorite pens and the one good pencil sharpener he was able to find that didn’t shred his pencils.

He felt the back of his throat sting as he took notes, trying to copy the graph on the board as his vision started to blur.

Something hit the back of his head, but he didn’t turn around. He didn’t acknowledge that he felt it.

If he acknowledged it, then it would mean it was a problem. It wasn’t a problem. It was just boys being assholes.

The bell rang and Felix was the first out of the classroom. He started eating his lunches in the library, mostly to avoid the cafeteria but also for the quiet the underused section of the school gave him.

“Whatcha got this time Lix?” Jisung asked as Felix sat in his usual spot. When he first went to the library, he saw all the tables were filled. He looked around and figured the manga section would be empty but he was wrong. Another boy was already sitting there, halfway through a volume of Naruto and half a sandwich shoved in his round cheeks. Felix was about to walk away when the boy moved over to make room. They got closer after that, Jisung doing most of the talking during the lunch break. He even got Felix to watch one of his favorite animes, which was something else they bonded over.

“Leftovers,” Felix said as he sat down. His mom worked full time, and his dad left when he was little, so he was usually on his own for making lunches. That morning he had slept in, so grabbed the last two slices of cold pizza from the night before and threw it in his bad. “I’m just glad I had something easy to grab.”

“I’ll trade you the crusts for this chocolate cupcake.” Jisung offered, eyeing Felix’s cold pizza with shining eyes.

“Deal.” Felix grinned. They fell into a comfortable silence as they ate, giving each other bites of this and that as they went.

“Is this where you always hide?” An unfamiliar voice called and Felix tensed. Jisung looked up and grinned through his mouthful of pizza crust at whoever it was.

“Hyung!” Jisung jumped to his feet and rushed over, choking on the crust some as he tried to talk around it. “I thought you were always busy during lunch.”

“Yeah, well Chan hyung is out today and you never bother to show up when we work during school so I figured there was no point.”

“They work us too hard during the day…” Jisung pouted, resting his head on Changbin’s shoulder. “I don’t wanna do extra work when I don’t have to… plus we get so much done at your house. Why should I give up my lunch dates?”

“Lunch dates?” Changbin’s eyes flickered to Felix, who was trying to look like he wasn’t listening in, even though they were only a few feet from him.

“Oh yeah, hyung, this is Felix,” Jisung said, gesturing for Felix to stand. “He showed up about a month ago and when I realized I could force him to watch anime with me I decided to keep him. Felix, this is Changbin hyung. He’s a junior, and he’s short and scary looking but he likes cute things, so I’m sure you’ll get along.”

“Does that mean you think I’m cute?” Felix asked, blushing. He hated blushing because it made his freckles stand out more. Jisung’s grin widened.

“You’re adorable Lix! And look at your blush!” Even Jisung’s cheeks started to redden

“Stop teasing the poor kid,” Changbin smacked the back of Jisung’s head. “It’s nice to meet you Felix… wait are you Lee Felix? The sophomore?”

“Y-yeah, nice to meet you too....” Felix trailed off, almost scared about why this boy he just met

“Chan hyung’s talked about you before,” Changbin said, moving to sit down where the two had been. The younger two follow suit and sit back down as well, leaning their backs against the bookcases. “He’s been wanting to get to know you, but he never has the time because of class and work and stuff.”

“Oh yeah! He’s from australia too,” Jisung chimed in. “I keep forgetting because I’m so used to him now.”

“Oh, I thought it was something bad,” Felix chuckled. “I’d like to meet him too.”

“You’re also the kid that’s being bullied, right?” Changbin asked casually, but Felix’s heart stopped.

“I don’t know what you mean.” He said quickly. Too quickly.

“Lix… you’re being bullied?” Jisung said, his voice almost a whisper.

“It’s not bullying,” he said as normally as possible. Why was he defending his old friends? “They’re just being assholes. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Even if they are just being assholes, you shouldn’t have to deal with it alone.” Jisung sounded far more serious than Felix had ever heard him sound before.

“It’s really no big deal,” Felix said with a smile. “If it gets too out of hand I’ll tell you, okay? But trust me when I say it’s fine right now. What kind of guy would I be if I couldn’t handle being bumped into once or twice?”

“Don’t try to handle everything yourself,” Jisung pouted. “You’ve got us now, okay? Promise.”

“I promise.” Felix held out his pinky, which Jisung took eagerly.

“You should come meet the others,” Changbin said, smiling faintly at the scene in front of him. He was glad Jisung was reaching out and making new friends. It had been hard enough for the boy to accept the friendship of the others after he transferred the year before. Jisung didn’t open up easily, so when he did it was a big occasion. “I’m sure they’re going to eat him up.”

“We’re still getting together this saturday right?” Jisung asked, finishing the last of Felix’s pizza crust.

“As far as I know plans haven’t changed,” Changbin answered, checking his phone. “Are you free, Felix?”

“I should be.” he said, almost meekly. His weekends were always free now. The friends that used to come over to play video games and watch movies now shoved him into lockers and whispered behind his back.

“Cool, give me your phone,” The oldest said. Felix blinked and held it out without complaint. Changbin took it and tapped at the screen for a few seconds before handing it back. “There, I texted myself so I can have your number. I’ll add you to our groupchat.”

“Thanks hyung.” Felix said, his ears heating up. All his friends before were his age, so he never really understood how it felt to have a hyung to look out for you. It made his chest warm in ways he didn’t really get.

“Ah, lunch is going to end soon and I left my stuff in the recording room,” Changbin said, checking his phone. “Text me later, okay?”

“Yes hyung.” Felix and Jisung said at the same time as the shorter boy sprinted away.

“Ah I’m so excited! You’re gonna love my friends!” Jisung squealed, his eyes glittering like the stars themselves were sparking in them. Felix’s chest got warmer, and he all but forgot about the shitty friends that were picking on him.

Almost.

* * *

  
Saturday seemed forever away to Felix, who was counting down the hours from both excitement and anxiety. If Jisung and Changbin’s friends were anything like them, he was sure to get along with them. The idea of having more friends made the bullying seem nothing more than a faint buzz.

It was Friday, which mean he only needed to get through the rest of that afternoon. Jisung had offered to let Felix sleep over that night to hang out before meeting everyone at Chan’s house.

“Watch where you’re going.” Someone said as they slammed into him. Felix stumbled, his shoulder connecting with the lockers again. Part of him wished they would shove him when he was walking on the other side of the hall, so the bruises would even themselves out. Felix sighed and looked to see who it was.

Min was standing and looking smug, as he normally did. It had been a month and a week, and the taller boy had already gone through three different hair colors. At that moment, it was a faded puke green color and Felix thought it suited his personality quite well.

“Ironic, seeing how you’re the one that bumped into me.” He said, not thinking. He had been spending too much time with Jisung and his sharp tongue.

“Sorry, what was that?” Min’s voice dropped and so did Felix’s stomach.

“Nothing.” Felix tried pushing past, only to find himself pinned to the lockers.

“No, I’m quite sure you said something,” Min sneered. “But I don’t recall giving you permission to speak to me…”

“Why would I need your permission?” Felix was getting mad. He never did anything to Min. Why was he acting like the freckled boy owed him something?

“Careful, before you spread your disease around.” Min grinned and shoved Felix again, making his head slam against the metal.

“What disease? What are you talking about?”

“Your freckles, idiot.” His old friend came over with a frown.

“My freckles?” Felix was confused. Sure, freckles weren’t super common in Korea, and a lot of kids used to mock him for them, but it wasn’t like they were contagious.

“You lied to us, you faggot,” His other old friend snarled. Felix’s blood ran cold. “You got the gay measles. We spent so much time with you, it’s a wonder it didn’t spread.”

“That’s not how that works-”

“Just sun marks my ass,” the first friend said with a disgusted sneer. “Min told us everything.”

“What are you talking about?” Felix was genuinely confused. “I told you, they’re cuz I used to nap outside-”

“Careful, don’t get too close or you’ll catch his gay.” Min snickered, looking down on Felix, who paled.

“G-gay?”

“Don’t think we don’t notice how you’ve been spending time with the school’s resident fruit basket.”

“Fruit basket…?” Felix was lost.

“Han Jisung? He came out as a fucking fag back at his old school and they drove him away before he could infect anyone there. Apparently they almost got him to off himself and do the rest of us a favor but his stupid friends found him before he could finish the job.” His old friend snickered and Felix felt his blood boiling.

“What the fuck did you say?” Felix wasn’t one to curse normally, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Oh no! The little fag is all mad that his faggy boyfriend tried to kill himself.”

“Stop calling him a fag!” Felix shoved Min back, startling the taller boy. Min stumbled backwards but regained his footing almost immediately.

“Oh, you wanna fight? The pussyboy wants to fight?” Min teased, shoving Felix a few times to rile him up.

“Why don’t you and your boyfriend do us all a favor and kill yourselves?” The one boy said. He was nothing like the boy that offered Felix half his cookie in middle school when Felix was homesick. This person was nothing like the friend Felix cared so much about.

“In fact, just kill each other,” The other boy said with a snicker. “It would be funnier to watch that way.”

“You…” Tears overflowed Felix’s eyes without his permission. The three started laughing at his moment of weakness, and Min took the opportunity to slam Felix against the lockers one more time. Felix’s head hit the metal so hard his ears started ringing, and he could have sworn he felt something hot drip down his collar.

“Crap, someone’s coming!” One of them said, but Felix was feeling really sleepy all of a sudden. Felix was dropped, and his body fell onto the ground with a heavy thump. His eyes started to slip shut as he heard footsteps coming closer.

“Oh my god!” The voice sounded familiar, and it made Felix feel safe.

“Isn’t that-?”

“Check his head,” Another voice said, one that Felix didn’t recognize but felt was familiar somehow. “He might have a concussion. Someone get his phone and see if we can contact his parents.”

“No…” Felix struggled to keep his eyes open. “Don’t let her know… I’m fine.”

“Fine my ass…” The first voice was right next to his head. Felix cracked his eyes open and saw tears running down Jisung’s face.

“Wasn’t he going to sleepover?”

“Yeah,” Jisung looked over his shoulder before turning his attention back to Felix. “If you have your stuff, Binnie hyung can get it out of your locker and you can come back to my house. My dad won’t be home until later but we can patch you up, okay”

“M’kay.” Felix said, his vision started to clear a little.

“Be careful with his head.” The familiar-but-not voice said. Someone picked up him delicately and the movement didn’t hurt as much as Felix had been expecting.

“My combination…” he trailed off.

“It’s alright. Binnie hyung has the master key to all the lockers,” Jisung said quickly. “Remind me to tell you that story one day, okay?”

“I will…”

“Chan hyung, is he going to be okay?” Jisung sounded like he was going to cry again.

“He will be, don’t worry Sunggie,” The person holding him said, his voice vibrating deep in his chest. “You came back in worse condition than this before.”

“But I was used to it…” Jisung’s words faded as Felix let his eyes drift shut.

He let himself fall asleep in the stranger’s arms, some part of his mind understanding that he was safe with them.


	2. Chapter 2

“Ah, sorry.” Chan said for the seventh time since he started dabbing at the back of Felix’s head.

“It’s fine, it barely hurts.” Felix lied a little. It stung but it wasn’t awful.

“Here, I brought painkillers.” Jisung came into the bathroom, his eyes still wide and frightened. Chan had carried Felix from the school to his car, driving him and Jisung back to Jisung’s house. Changbin said he had something to do before grabbing Felix’s bag and meeting them there, so he stayed behind.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get a concussion.” Chan said, taking the pills from Jisung and handing them to Felix, who was still in shock.

“My mom always told me I had a thick skull.” Felix joked faintly, his accent thicker than usual.

“Felix… I don’t know what they said to you, but it’s not true.”

“Hyung… what did you mean when you said Jisung came back worse?” Felix asked, bits and pieces of the conversation with Min coming back to him at an alarming rate.

“Well…” Chan looked uncomfortable but Jisung smiled bitterly. He moved to sit on the edge of the tub.

“Back at my old school I got bullied pretty badly,” He said, trying to sound casual but Felix could hear the strain behind his words. “I used to go to the high school on the other side of town, and Chan hyung’s my neighbor. We didn’t move but I transferred schools, and hyung did too so he could drive us both in.”

“I’m sorry Jisung…” Felix wanted to cry. Jisung was one of the brightest people he had ever met. Knowing that he was hurt bad enough to transfer schools made the freckled boy’s chest sting.

“I’m sorry that you’re going through the same thing and there’s… there’s nothing I can do.” Jisung looked angrily at the tiles of the floor. Felix flinched when Chan pressed a little too hard on the cut on the back of his head.

“Sorry,” he whispered again. “It looks like the bleeding stopped thankfully.”

“Thank you hyung.” Felix couldn’t look anyone in the eye.

“This wasn’t the way I was hoping to meet you,” Chan said, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall. “I’ve been wanting to say hi since I transfered. It’s been a while since I talked to another Aussie.”

“Same here,” Felix found himself able to smile a little. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to speak English to anyone at all really. Sometimes my mom and I talk in english but… she’s always working so I don’t see her all that much anymore.”

“Don’t worry Felix, you’ve got us now,” Chan said with a smile, his dimples showing. “You don’t gotta worry about being alone anymore.”

“Thank you hyung.” Felix blushed.

“Ah shit, I have to go,” Chan said, quickly standing as he checked his phone. “I have work in fifteen minutes. Jisung, take care of him, yeah?”

“Of course hyung!” Jisung said, jumping to his feet and saluting the older boy. Chan grinned and ruffled his hair before gently rubbing the top of Felix’s head.

“Take care of yourself, aight? Can’t let those assholes win.” He winked before slipping out of the bathroom.

“You hungry Lix?” Jisung asked, trying to sound normal but Felix could hear the tension behind his words.

“Sure.” Felix answered, not sure how to bring up what Min said before.

They went down to the kitchen, where Felix saw a note from Jisung’s dad saying he wouldn’t be home until late, and that there was money on the counter to order dinner if they wanted to. They decided on take out, mostly because they were both too frazzled to even consider cooking. They went to the living room to wait, curling up on the couch together. Felix rested his head on Jisung’s chest and listened to his friend’s heartbeat.

His friend…

“Oh shit, are you okay? Does it hurt?” Jisung asked, noticing the tears streaming down Felix’s freckled cheek. Felix shook his head, but the tears kept coming faster and faster. Jisung pulled him in close, letting his friend bury his face in his chest as he cried. Jisung felt helpless, and wondered faintly if this was how Chan felt before. “It’s okay to cry. You’re okay Lix.”

Felix sobbed into Jisung’s shirt, letting out a month of frustration and anger. He cried for his friends, that were so willing to turn their backs on him. He cried for Jisung, who went through hell and back just to face the same bullshit at a new school. He cried for himself, for not being brave enough to stand up to Min and fight back. He cried because of what Min said to him - he never thought he could be gay before the slurs were being hurled at him, but it made sense in a way.

He was never interested in girls. He thought they were pretty, sure, but he didn’t want to kiss them. He didn’t care about the princesses in movies. He never cared about the girls in porn. He never thought much of it, until Min called him a fag.

Then it made sense.

“Oh god… he’s right…” Felix whimpered, his voice cracking from the tears. He covered his face with his hands, digging his nails into the soft flesh of his cheeks. Jisung noticed and tried to pry his fingers away but Felix was stronger.

“Felix, what’s wrong?” Jisung asked, scared.

“He’s right, oh my god he was right.” Felix sobbed harder.

“Who was right?” Jisung tried to speak calmly, but his words were trembling. He wished Chan was still there. The older boy was better at comforting people than he was. All Jisung could do was try to hold Felix’s fingers away from his face.

“I’m a faggot,” He sobbed, the sounds ripping themselves from his chest with such a force that Felix thought he was going to pass out. Jisung’s blood ran cold. “Min’s right, I am just a faggot… Oh god…”

“F-felix, there’s nothing wrong with-”

“I deserve it, don’t I?” His sobs were replaced with frantic sniffles and the occasional gasp.

“What?” Jisung sat up, accidentally throwing Felix off his chest. “No, no, no you’re not allowed to think like that. It doesn’t matter who you like. You NEVER deserve to be treated like that.”

“I don’t want this…” Felix could feel himself start to hyperventilate but there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“Lix, please listen to me,” Jisung tried, but his friend was fighting his embrace. Jisung grabbed both of Felix’s wrists and pinned them above the smaller boy’s head. “Felix! Listen! There’s nothing wrong with you, at all. Min’s just an asshole who’s looking for any reason to hurt people. Even if you weren’t gay, he’d try to hurt you because of your accent, or your interests. Just because he can use it to hurt you, doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing… You DO NOT deserve to be hurt because of who you like… no one does. You’re so amazing, and it should be illegal to make you upset. I swear to god I don’t care how big this asshole is. I’m going to break his goddamn nose if he lays another finger on you, you hear me? I don’t care what happens to me if it means they leave you alone-”

“No!” Felix shouted, the word being the first crisp thing he said in almost twenty minutes. Somewhere within Jisung’s rant, Felix had stopped crying and stared up at his friend with large, red-tinged eyes, not knowing what to say. Hearing Jisung talk so casually about his safety - especially in his defense - snapped Felix out of it.

Tears hit Felix’s cheeks, but they weren’t his this time. Jisung was still holding his wrists above his head, hovering over Felix. Hot tears bubbled over his round cheeks as he sniffled quietly, obviously trying hard not to outright sob.

“Felix… you do not deserve to be treated like this, no matter what.” he said, moving back so he was sitting, letting Felix sit up himself.

“Jisung… how did you handle it?” Felix whispered, not able to look his friend in the face. He felt Jisung freeze next to him, but just as he was about to apologize and tell the other boy to forget it, Jisung started talking again.

“I didn’t…. Not really. I tried going to the teachers, but they said because there was no real proof there wasn’t anything they could do. I tried sucking it up and ignoring it, but that made them mad. Made them try harder to get a reaction out of me. I don’t know why they suddenly started to care. I was already out as bi before the bullying started, and no one really seemed to care. Then out of the blue there were notes being thrown at me, telling me to kill myself, and milk poured down my shirt. I still don’t understand why they decided to target me all of a sudden, but they did, and I didn’t handle it well at all.”

“Jisung…” Felix felt awful for asking. It only happened a year ago, and making his friend relive painful memories was just cruel of him. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to… I’ll be here when you’re ready though.”

“I-” Jisung looked between his hands and Felix, seeming to be at a loss for words. He took a deep breath and nodded. “Not right now… but later? I always wanna talk about stuff late at night.”

“Nothing says friendship more like oversharing at two in the morning.” Felix smiled and nudged Jisung lightly. Jisung snorted and returned the smile.

They sat next to each other for a few minutes, content to just bask in each other’s warmth and listen to the sounds of the house. A loud knock at the door caused both boys to jump a foot in the air. Felix was lucky enough to land back on the couch. Jisung, on the other hand, land heavily on the floor.

“Fuckin hell… Jisung cursed under his breath and he rubbed his tailbone and went to answer the door. Felix chuckled, realizing Jisung must have picked that one up from Chan at some point.

“You can repay me in compliments.” Changbin said haughtily as he waltzed through the door.

“What?” Jisung asked just as he spotted the bags in the older boy’s hands.

“I pulled up just as the delivery guy got here so I paid and brought it in for you,” Changbin said, placing the bags on the counter. Felix envied how comfortable he seemed to be in Jisung’s home. “Here’s your bag Felix. Sorry it took so long to get here. There was something I wanted to do before I left school.”

“Ah, thank you hyung.” Felix said, taking the duffle with a small smile. Even though Jisung insisted on the older boy spending time with them during lunch, he still got flustered when he was treated like a dongsaeng.

“You didn’t have to pay,” Jisung whined, trying to shove the bills left by his dad into Changbin’s pocket. “Take my money damnit!”

“What kind of hyung would I be if I let you pay me back?” Changbin smirked, but his smile fell quickly. “After what happened today, I figured worrying about dinner is the last thing you should have to deal with.”

“Hyung…” Jisung let his hands drop to his sides at how serious Changbin sounded.

“Good thing it looks like you ordered extra,” The older boy said, breaking the tension in the air. “I’m starving, and I want to watch some buzzfeed unsolved.”

“Alright, but only because you paid.” Jisung said with a smile.

* * *

  
“Felix?” Jisung’s voice called through the darkness.

“Yeah?” Felix whispered back. They were sharing Jisung’s queen sized bed, and as much as Felix wanted to cuddle with his friend, he figured that was more second sleepover territory.

“Do you ever think God looks down on us and laughs?”

“I…” Felix was shocked by the sudden question. “I never really thought of it.”

“My family used to go to church every Sunday,” Jisung said quietly. There was rustling as Jisung turned over, and even though it was pitch black Felix could tell they were now facing each other. “Back when I was really young. My mom used to sing in the choir, and when I got old enough I sang there too. I realized I was bi because there was this boy in the choir. His name was Hyuk, and he was from LA. We got really close… one day he said he was asked on a date by one of the girls in the church but was afraid of embarrassing himself. He asked if he could practice kissing with me. At first I didn’t really care. Just a bro helpin another bro out, you know? But… after I dreamed about kissing him like, two weeks in a row, I realized I liked him the way he liked the girl. I tried to hide it, but my mom listened in on me telling Hyuk I liked him… I still don’t know if she found out by accident or if someone tipped her off. To say she was mad would be an understatement. Between her and my dad, she was the religious one. Nothing she tried turned me straight again, but when she tried to get me to go to conversion therapy is when my dad finally had enough. By the end of the week, the divorce papers were signed and we were moving out. I haven’t talked to my mom since then. It’ll be seven years as of November.”

“I can’t even imagine… I’m so sorry Jisung.” Felix whispered in horror. How could someone be so cruel to their own child?

“I guess it worked out for the best,” Jisung sounded tired. “I haven’t seen or heard from Hyuk since I moved, but if he stayed at that church he’s probably a homophobic asshole by now. My dad was really adamant about me being true to myself, so I never really tried to hide anything. I got used to the snide comments, because as long as I loved myself it didn’t matter what other people thought of me, right?”

“Jisung, what happened at your old school?” Felix asked, blindly reaching his hand out. He found Jisung’s hand and held it gently, tracing patterns onto the back of his hand with his thumb.

“After the bullying started, I thought I could wait it out. I was only a freshman, but what was three years? I figured as soon as I got to college things would be fine. Only… things escalated really fast. It went from whispers to be slammed into lockers to notes being slipped between my books when I wasn’t watching. They found my social media and spammed my pictures with shitty comments and when I didn’t react they reported my accounts until I was banned. They tripped me so my lunch would spill all over me. I made it a habit to eat in the library, but they still managed to find me… I think the final straw was when- when they threatened to hurt Chan hyung… they said if I didn’t do everyone a favor and kill myself they were going to ruin Chan hyung’s life. At that point, I was already in such a bad place that I wanted to kill myself anyway, but I couldn’t handle them hurting Channie. I snapped and tried to overdose on my dad’s sleeping pills… Chan hyung found me and made me throw up when the ambulance came.”

“Does he know? About what they said?” Felix asked softly.

“I don’t think so,” Jisung answered sadly. “He knows what happened, obviously, but I don’t think he knows it’s because they were threatening him. If he did… he’d blame himself even more. I promised myself I’d never tell him. You have to promise too, okay?”

“I-”

“Please Felix. I’m... better. Telling him now would just reopen old wounds.” Jisung sounded on the verge of tears. Felix felt his heart ache.

“I promise,” He whispered, giving Jisung’s hand a squeeze. “I won’t tell him.”

“Thank you,” Jisung breathed, squeezing Felix’s hand back. “God, I haven’t talked about this shit in a long time. The last therapist I went to was right after… I got out of the hospital, and he was a quack.”

“You can tell me anything.” Felix said with as much conviction as possible.

“Anything?”

“Anything, no matter what.”

“Sometimes… sometimes I regret ever trying to kill myself,” Jisung said, almost as if he was talking to someone else. “But sometimes I regret not succeeding. I know I’m better now, because bad days are really rare, but sometimes I still… I dunno. I guess it’s something that never really goes away.”

“I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad I met you.”

“I’m… I’m glad it didn’t work,” Jisung was crying. Felix could hear it in his voice. “I’m glad I got to meet you, and the others… Maybe if I had known you before, none of that would have happened…”

“My mom always says everything happens for a reason,” Felix said, continuing to trace patterns onto the back of Jisung’s hand. “Even the worst things possible, because the way those events shape up turn us into the people we were meant to be. When my dad left… we were devastated. I was young, and I didn’t understand why mom and dad were always yelling at each other. One day we just packed up and moved to Korea… at first, I felt really bitter and resentful. At my dad, for cheating on my mom. At my mom for marrying him in the first place. At myself, for not being good enough to save their marriage. When we first moved here, mom had a bunch of part time jobs to support us. After a few years, she was able to get a full time position as a secretary to some big shot lawyer. She was torn up by what my dad did for years, but once she picked herself up again, her shoulders were stronger than ever. She never enters a room with her chin down, ever. She’s the strongest person I know. She doesn’t take bullshit from anyone, not even her boss, and she never would have found that power if my poor excuse for a dad hadn’t cheated on her.”

“I’m sorry Felix. That must have been awful.” Jisung started playing with Felix’s fingers.

“It’s okay. It sucked, but I think I’ve grown from it too. I’m more patient and understanding, and I know what not to do in a relationship from watching my parent’s marriage fall apart. What you went through sounds… unbearable… but it sounds like you’re more compassionate because of it. You said you were willing to be beaten up for me. That takes a lot of love…”

“I’d die for my friends.”

“I like you better alive, actually.” Felix giggled a little.

“Felix… thank you. For being my friend and taking care of me and… not leaving when you found out what I tried to do.” Jisung’s nose was stuffed from crying, and his voice was thick.

“Thank you for letting me sit with you and forcing me to watch that anime with you and for caring about me when you could have easily ignored me,” Felix scooted a little closer, barely able to feel Jisung’s breath on his collarbones. “Thank you for helping me today, and offering to be my knight in shining armor. I’m so lucky to call you my friend.”  
Jisung didn’t respond. He just rolled even closer and buried his nose in Felix’s neck. The two fell into silence again as Felix wrapped his arms around Jisung’s trembling body.

Despite was what bound to happen come Monday, in that moment they were safe and content. Felix sighed and let himself fall asleep with Jisung tucked safely away in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to be a three-scene chapter, but after writing the two it was already six pages and I usually cut my chapters off between six and seven. Next chapter is going to be Felix's introduction to the friend group! Then the real fun starts, and by fun I mean everyone is going to crying at somepoint in this fic and that point is coming quickly


	3. Chapter 3

“We’re getting together around one, so we have plenty of time for breakfast,” Jisung said drowsily. He popped awake and blindly reached for his phone, happy to see it was only eleven. Felix groaned and buried his face in the pillow, trying to fall back asleep. “Wake up!”

“Don’t wanna,” Felix whined, turning over so his back was to his friend. “Wanna go back to sleep…”

“Nah, gotta get up.” Jisung sat up and draped himself over Felix. The freckled boy shrieked and giggled as he tried to roll out from under Jisung, who continued to roll on top of him.

“Jisung!” He laughed and pushed his friend off. They laid on the bed, chuckling and rubbing their eyes.

“Morning.” Jisung mumbled as he rolled over to face Felix.

“Morning to you too.” Felix grinned, wrinkling his nose a little.

“I think my dad is making food.”

“Hmm not hungry. Don’t wanna move. It’s real warm…” Felix sighed and scooted closer to Jisung.

“He’s making pancakes.” Jisung sang softly. Felix’s eyes widened and he sat up abruptly.

“Why didn’t you say that before?” He asked, rolling off the bed and landing on the cold floor with a thump.

“You okay?” Jisung asked, grinning down at Felix.

“Peachy keen.” Felix groaned as he rubbed his tailbone.

“Boys?” A voice called up to them.

“Coming!” Jisung called back as he hopped off the bed. He rubbed his eyes again and ran his hand through his hair as he helped Felix up from the ground.

“Ah, your shirt is all messed up.” Felix said, tugging the collar of Jisung’s t-shirt so it covered his exposed shoulder. Felix looked up at Jisung just in time for the other boy to make eye contact.

Felix couldn’t look away. Jisung’s eyes were so large and sparkly and slightly red from sleep.

“Breakfast is getting cold!” Jisung’s dad called to them, making them both jump apart as if they were caught doing something wrong.

“Let’s get some food.” Jisung said, trying to turn around fast enough to hide the red on his cheeks.

“Yeah, okay.” Felix grinned, reaching out. He held Jisung’s pinky with his own. Jisung glanced back at him but didn’t pull his hand away.

They made their way down to the kitchen, where Jisung’s dad was just putting the last pancake on a plate.

“There you guys are!” he said with a smile. “I thought I was going to have to come up and get you.

“Sorry dad, I didn’t want to get out of bed.” Jisung admitted, sliding into one of the chairs.

“Good morning Mr. Han.” Felix said, sitting across from him.

“Felix, right? Here, eat up. You’re meeting at Chan’s at one still?”

“Yeah, though I have a bet going with Hyungjin that Seungmin is gonna be late again.” Jisung snickered as he cut into his breakfast.

“That boy has never been on time for anything.” His dad laughed, and Felix couldn’t help but notice how they had the same smile, though Jisung’s cheeks were rounder.

“When do you have to go to work?”

“I actually have to leave in a few minutes,” he said, putting the pan into the sink. “I’ll send you over with some cash for food. Chan’ll try to pay for everything himself again but if I find out he didn’t take my money again I’m going to tattle to his mom. I may be a grown man but I’m not above tattling.”

“You know he isn’t going to.” Jisung said easily, shoving another bite into his mouth. Felix thought he looked cute with his cheeks all puffed out.

Felix thought Jisung was cute?

“Alright boys, I’m heading out. Please do the dishes before I get home.”

“Yes sir!” Jisung saluted as his dad laughed. They heard the front door close and the car drive away as they continued to eat in silence.

“Your dad is really cool.” Felix said softly as he finished the last bite of his breakfast.

“He’s one of my best friends,” Jisung grinned as he slipped his plate into the sink. “He was the first person to really accept me for who I am.”

“I’m not gonna lie,” Felix copied Jisung and placed his plate in the sink as well. “I kinda wish I had that kind of relationship with my mom. I love her, don’t get me wrong, but I almost never see her anymore. We don’t get the chance to joke around anymore because she’s always so tired when she comes home…”

“She loves you Lix,” Jisung’s eyes softened. “It’s hard to show the people you care about how much they mean to you, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love you.”

“It’s too early to be this sappy.” Felix laughed, bumping his shoulder into Jisung’s.

“That’s true,” Jisung laughed back as they headed up to his room again. “I’m gonna hop in the shower real fast. You’re welcome to hop in too, if you want.”

“H-hop in?” Felix hated how his voice cracked. Jisung’s cheek lit up bright red when he realized what Felix was thinking.

“I meant after me!” he squeaked, covering his face with his hands. “You’re as bad as Minho hyung…”

“Haha yeah… after…” Felix wasn’t sure what the feeling in his chest was. Anxiety? Maybe… disappointment?

Jisung slipped from the room and Felix heard the shower turn on moments after.

* * *

  
“Seungmin just texted me,” Chan said, plopping down on the couch. “Said he was going to be late. Something about traffic but I know he just slept in again.”

“You owe me ten bucks.” Jisung whispered to Hyungjin, who scowled and pulled out his wallet. Felix laughed awkwardly, still not sure who everyone in the room was. He already knew Chan and Changbin, and faintly recognized Hyungjin from his gym class, but the others were complete strangers to him.

“Jeongin, what time did the bitch baby go to sleep last night?” The boy with the cat smile asked with a smirk. The boy with the braces didn’t even look up from his phone as he responded.

“The last text I got from him was around four. He was yelling about something in all caps and I didn’t bother to read it.”

“Good to know you’re such a reliable friend,” The cat boy grinned, moving to ruffle Jeongin’s hair. “Seungmin’s lucky to have you.”

“Minho hyung, you’re just bitter because I ignored your three am text again.” Jeongjin looked up at Minho knowingly.

“And I’ll never forget the betrayal I felt.” Minho pouted, draping himself over the back of the couch dramatically. Jeongin shook his head and smacked the older boy’s stomach, causing him to double over and fall onto the couch properly.

“Ya, I left the room for two minutes…” Another new face entered the living room. He reminded Felix of the stuffed bear he used to sleep with as a kid.

“Dad’s back.” Jisung called loudly.

“Jisung, the thought of having you as a son exhausts me and brings me nightmares.” The bear boy deadpanned.

“Woojin, go easy on the boy,” Chan grinned at his friend. “He’s trying to fill a void.”

“There are other ways of doing that,” Woojin muttered, sitting on the couch between Minho and Jeongin. “He could be like normal teenage boys and jerk off but no, I have to take care of a squirrel.”

“Bold of you to assume I don’t already do that.” Jisung monotoned, causing everyone to burst into laughter. Even Felix cracked a smile, unable to stop laughing at how easily Jisung confessed to jerking off.

“You were right Jisungie, his smile really is like the sun.” Minho said, shocking Felix.

“Right?” Jisung wrapped his arms around Felix’s waist and rested his chin on the freckled boy’s shoulder. “He’s almost as cute as me.”

“Bold of you to assume you’re cute.” Chan called from his position on the couch. Felix could feel Jisung huff.

“Hyuuuunggg,” Jisung whined, swinging Felix from side to side. “You’re so mean to meee.”

“You’re going to strangle our new friend before Seunegmin even gets here.” Changbin tugged Felix away from Jisung and wrapped his own arms around the younger boy.

“Why does the new guy get cuddles from Changbin hyung but he refuses to hug me?” A new voice called from the door.

“Seungmin’s here.” Chan called again, not taking his eyes away from whatever Woojin was doing on his phone.

“Because you’re always cuddling up to Hyungjin and it hurts my feelings.” Changbin said cutely, tilting his head from side to side.

“How are you the hyung?” Seungmin asked, looking mildly disgusted.

“The gangs all here,” Chan said, standing from the couch and grabbing the takeout menu from the table. “You know the drill. Everyone mark down what you want and I’ll place the order. Our group laws dictate that it’s Changbin’s turn to pick the activity for this week’s gathering, but after some one on one conferencing, he was kind enough to offer this great honor to our new inductee, Felix.”

“What?” Felix said dumbly, not expecting to be brought into the conversation.

“We have a… tradition that we have someone new pick the activity for the hang out each time,” Jisung explained, resting his head on Felix’s shoulder as he grinned at Chan. “We started because Jeongin got bored of watching movies every time.”

“And considering… recent events, we as 3Racha decided to allow you the great honor of choosing the day.” Chan said, grinning and winking at Felix as he bowed.

“3Racha?” Felix turned to Jisung.

“Me, Changbin hyung and Chan hyung,” he explained. “We were the first to get together in our group, and we write music together. They like to joke that we’re the three kings ruling over our little kingdom.”

“Is that why Chris is talking like that?” Felix whispered to Jisung, who snorted.

“Yeah, he think it’s hilarious.”

“I don’t know if I should pick the stuff,” Felix said, feeling his chest tighten. “I don’t know what everyone likes and I don’t want to make the wrong decision.”

“You won’t make the wrong decision,” Jisung took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “What sort of things do you like to do?”

“Um, dancing? Video games? Uh… sometimes when I’m bored I liked to walk around town and go through the shops.”

“Let’s play just dance!” Minho cried, putting his knees on the couch and laying over the back so his arms were sticking out.

“That’s a great idea.” Chan grinned as he passed the menu to Jisung. He quickly marked down his order and handed the paper to Felix. He had never heard of that place before, so he stared at the options awkwardly.

“This one is really good,” Jisung pointed at one of the options that no one had picked yet. “If you like spicy though you should pick that one.” He pointed to another.

“I’ll go with the first.” Felix smiled.

“Good choice. I’m going to eat some of it,” Jisung plucked the menu from Felix’s fingers and handed it to Chan. “Hyung, my dad said if you don’t take his money he’ll tell your mom and she’ll get mad at you.”

“Jisung…” Chan whined, pouting and trying to dance away from the bills the younger boy was trying to shove in his hand.

“Woojin and Changbin are in charge of moving the furniture when I call in the order,” Chan said over the rumble of the room. “Please don’t break anything because I’m still in hot water from the last time Seungmin smashed that window.”

“Yes hyung.” A chorus chimed and Chan grinned. He pulled out his phone and slipped out of the room.

“Alright guys. Me, Minho, and Changbin are going to move the furniture and the rest of you are going to stay out of our way.” Woojin said with a smile that was only slightly menacing.

“Felix hyung, let’s get drinks.” Jeongin said as he took Felix’s hand and dragged him into the kitchen before the older boy could agree.

“Jeongin, right?”

“Yeah, Jisung hyung talked alot about you,” he said, opening the fridge and rummaging through it. He started pulling out cans of soda and handing them to Felix. “It’s nice seeing him opening up. When Chan hyung introduced him to everyone, he was real closed off and scared. He’s been smiling a lot more the last few weeks too.”

“Really?” Felix asked, arranging the cans in his arms. “I haven’t really known him that long, but he’s already my best friend…. My only friend up until yesterday, actually.”

“Hyung, what happened yesterday?” Jeongin finally looked at Felix, and the older boy was shocked at how much more mature the younger looked when he was serious. “Chan hyung won’t tell us anything, but Changbin hyung was talking to the principle about something and I heard your name mentioned….”

Felix felt his stomach drop.

“Ah, it’s n-nothing to worry about,” His voice cracked. “Just some kids being assholes, you know. It’s all okay.”

“You sound like Jisung hyung used to…” Jeongin trailed off, an odd expression on his face.

“We should get back to the others,” Felix said quickly, fitting one last can in his arms. “All the screaming stopped so they’ve probably finished moving the furniture.”

Jeongin didn’t comment and the two made their way back to the living room, where the couch and chairs had been pushed against the walls and Woojin was fiddling with the game system.

“Welcome back!” Jisung cried, quickly moving to Felix to help lighten his burden. The two started handing out drinks, placing the extras on the coffee table on the other side of the room.

“So Chan won’t be back for at least another fifteen minutes,” Woojin said, standing and groaning as his knees cracked loudly. Usually he calls it in to give them warning ahead of time but eight orders- ah, nine orders, is gonna take a while.”

“Felix! Tell us about yourself!” Hyungjin cried, sitting on the open floor, patting the rug next to him. The boys sat in a large circle, all eyes on the newcomer in their group.

“Um…” Felix hadn’t felt stage fright in years, but in that moment he was struck speechless. Jisung reached over and took his hand, and Felix instantly felt better. “Well, my full name is Lee Felix. I moved here in the sixth grade from Australia. I like to dance and sing, and my worst subject in school is chemistry. I’ve just started getting into anime and I really like it so far… um… I can make my voice go really low and really high? Is that a fun fact?” He turned to Jisung, who nodded in encouragement.

“Wait how deep can you make your voice go?” Seungmin asked, looking interested. Felix felt his cheeks warm at the attention.

“Um….” Felix suddenly forgot how to say anything ever. Jisung squeezed his hand. “Hello, my name is Lee Felix. It’s nice to meet you all and I hope we can get along.” he said with his deepest octave.

Everyone freaked out, grinning and squealing.

“Why is that so hot?” Minho asked, patting his red cheeks.

“Ya, back off,” Hyungjin smacked his hyung. “He’s obviously not available.”

“What-?” Felix turned to Jisung in confusion, but the other boy just shrugged.

“Ah, Chan just texted me,” Woojin said, stopping Hyungjin from saying something that he oh so desperately wanted to say. “He said since ours was the only order, he’s already on his way back.”

“Food!” Minho jumped up and raced to the kitchen.

“Oh god he’s going to break something again.” Changbin whispered in horror as he raced after the cat boy.

“He’s… he’s not even back yet?” Woojin stared after his two friends with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I don’t question it anymore.” Hyungjin said, shaking his head. The boys moved into the kitchen, grabbing the paper plates being handed to them by Minho. Someone casually mentioned that Chan would be back any second and it’s best to stand around the table now. Apparently Chan laid all the food out and let everyone grab for their orders.

“They like you.” Jisung whispered to Felix, who was hanging back from the mob waiting by the table.

“You think?” Felix whispered back, feeling unsure.

“Absolutely,” Jisung grinned and Felix felt some of the tightness in his chest loose. “I think they want to steal you from me.” He gigged.

“Nah, I so far I still like you best.” Felix bumped Jisung’s shoulder with his own.

“So far?” Jisung bumped him back.

“Yeah, so far,” Felix smirked. “We’ll see how today goes.”

“Dear diary,” Jisung lamented, leaning dramatically against Felix’s side. “I’ve lost a brother on this day. The betrayal of my love cut me to my heart, but I must be strong.”

“Y-you didn’t lose anyone, dork.” Felix stuttered, looking away from his friend.

“Hey, what are you two talking about-?” Minho’s question was cut short by the front door slamming open.

“Daddy’s home!” Chan yelled. The kitchen erupted in cheers as the blond boy struggled to carry in three large paper bags of food.

“Come on Lix, today is gonna rock.” Jisung smiled at Felix, tilting his head to the side a little and Felix felt himself nodding without thinking about how his heart seemed to be dancing.

* * *

  
The weekend seemed to fly by. By the time Chan drove him home Saturday night, his phone was filled with new numbers and a group chat that was already draining his battery. Chan texted him separately that night and chatted with him, talking about Australia and how hard it was to adjust to Korea’s weather.

Sunday was the break Felix didn’t realize he needed.

He was able to finish all his homework - something that had been growing and looming over him since the weekend before - and video called Jisung for a while. Jisung was getting into a new anime, and he was excited to tell his friend all about it.

Felix wasn’t really interested in the plot, but watching Jisung’s face get more and more animated as he talked made the whole thing worth it. Maybe he would actually watch it on his own, just so he could talk to Jisung more about it.

Monday, however was something Felix wished would never come.

His alarm blared in his ear, and he almost threw his phone across the room before realizing that would shatter his screen. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, already hating how cold his room was. Jisung’s bed was so much warmer.

“Felix baby, don’t forget to eat okay? There’s some fruit in the fridge,” His mom poked her head into his room and smiled. She was already ready to go to work, her makeup perfect and not a hair out of place. Felix might be a little biased, but he thought his mom was the most beautiful woman in the world. She furrowed her eyebrows and moved to sit on the bed next to him. “Lixie, is everything alright?”

“Uh, yeah,” Felix didn’t realize he had been frowning so deeply. “Just remembered we’re going to have a sub and she never lets us leave the room.”

“Even when you have to use the bathroom?”

“She says leaving the class while she’s teaching is disrespectful, even though she’s just a sub and sometimes we actually have reasons for leaving.” Felix said, sighing.

“You got this,” His mom smiled at him and kissed his forehead. “You’re my outback survivalist, remember?”

“Mom…” Felix blushed at the old nickname.

“Come on Lixie,” She smiled again and stood. “We have a big day ahead of us.”

His mom left after giving him a tight hug and a promise that they would eat dinner together that night. Felix smiled, knowing the chances of her having to stay late were high.

He wasn’t upset that she wouldn’t make it anymore. He was more happy that she tried to plan time with him despite her busy schedule. He ate breakfast quickly and packed his lunch, shoving the bag into his backpack and getting ready in record time.

The bus pulled up just as he ran out his front door.

“Hey Felix!” Minho smiled at him as they entered the school.

“Hey hyung.”

“You busy after school?” The elder asked curiously.

“Nah, not until later.”

“Perfect, you wanna come by dance practice?” Minho’s eyes sparkled. “I saw you on Saturday. You know how to move, and with Soonyoung’s sprained ankle, we need someone to fill in the gap in our choreography.”

“Okay!” Felix bounced a little. He loved dancing, but he hadn’t had much of a chance since starting high school.

“Awesome, I’ll send you the details later.” Minho wrapped his arms around Felix’s neck in a brief but tight hug before sprinting off to the senior lockers.

Felix shook his head but smiled nonetheless and went to his own locker. He threw in the books he didn’t need and hurried to class before the bell rang. He slid into his seat just as the teacher walked in, not noticing the small envelope on his chair. He shifted and felt something poke him.

“What?” He breathed, picking up the envelope. It had his name on the front, written in blocky letters. He could feel something solid inside. As discreetly as possible, he opened the envelope and pulled out the note in it.

_Do us all a favor and kill yourself. No one wants to look at your fuckin fag face anymore. It should be easy for you. You’re used to bleeding, right? Just slit your wrists and disappear, freak._

Felix dropped the note, his hands shaking. Despite his better judgement, he dug out what else was in the envelope. He hissed as he felt something cut the pad of his thumb. He pulled out whatever it was and felt his heart stop.

Between bleeding fingers was the blade from the pencil sharpener that was stolen from him, the one that sharpened his pencils perfectly. He recognized it because there was golden paint splattered on it from when he was making something for art class.

He took a deep breath and pulled a pack of tissues from his bag. He cleaned up his hand with on, shoving the bloody tissue deep in his bag, and wrapped the blade up with another.

Felix slipped the blade into his pocket and turned his attention to the lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This originally wasn't going to be a ship fic, but Felix and Jisung's relationship just seemed too cute to pass up on!
> 
> Also, thank you everyone for reading! If anyone has suggestions for this story, or suggestions for a new story let me know!


	4. Chapter 4

“Lix, is everything okay?” Jisung asked curiously. Felix stared at his hands, not blinking. He was still reeling from that morning. The little razor seemed to drag his pocket down, as if it was filled with rocks instead of a small piece of metal.

“Lix?” Changbin’s worried voice chimed in.

“Huh? Yeah, just tired,” Felix lied, not sure exactly why he was lying. “I stayed up too late finishing my homework last night.”

“Ya, even Jisung doesn’t wait until the last second.” Changbin teased, pointing his chopsticks at the other boy, who looked at him with a betrayed expression.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Jisung asked, pouting.

“It means you’re mess and a half,” The eldest of the trio laughed, flicking a piece of rice at Jisung’s face. “And that if Felix doesn’t want to end up like you he should get his homework done sooner.”

Felix froze. Like Jisung…?

He was already like Jisung. He was gay, and being bullied. Felix was almost afraid to think of what other similarities his story had to his friend’s.

“I’m going to run and pee real quick,” He said, putting aside his half finished lunch and standing. “You can have the rest of my food. I’m not that hungry today.”

“You sure? You barely ate anything.” Jisung looked up at Felix with those sparkling eyes and Felix felt his stomach flip. Why did Jisung always look at him with those damn eyes that held so much love and trust. Felix didn’t deserve it.

“Yeah, I ate a lot at breakfast.” He said quickly before slipping away. He prayed no one was in the bathroom and for the first time those prayers were answered. He went to the bathroom and as he washed his hands, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. Where had he gone wrong? Why was he like this?

He hated that their words were affecting him so much. He had only been dealing with this for a month, and he was already starting to break down. How had Jisung managed so long? Was Felix just that weak?

He didn’t hear the door open and close.

“Well, looks like you’re still here, unfortunately.” It was his friend - or rather, his ex friend. The one that had comforted him when he was homesick and cried with him when his dog died in the seventh grade and the first one to shove him against the lockers.

“What do you want?” Felix asked, not having the energy to deal with whatever bullshit was about to happen.

“You got my note, right? You know what I want.” He said, sneering at Felix through the mirror. The freckled boy didn’t turn around.

“You’re a sick fuck, you know that right?” Felix said lightly, feeling a little proud of how the other boy seemed shocked. “After everything we’ve been through, this is how you treat me?”

“D-don’t talk back to me, freak.” His eyes were wide.

“I’m sure your sister would be thrilled to hear you’ve become an asshole to her other little brother.” Felix knew it was a low blow, but after everything this jerk had done to him, he wasn’t ashamed.

“Don’t you fucking talk about her like you knew her!” he seethed, his face turning red.

“There’s a lot I could say, but unlike you I’m actually above exploiting other people for my own amusement.” Felix said, turning and going to dry his hands. He felt guilty enough bringing his sister up. She had passed away from an aggressive form of bone cancer when they were in the eighth grade, but in the two years that they had known each other, the older girl doted on Felix at any given moment, saying she liked him more than her actual brother. She had only been two years older than them.

“You’re going to regret that,” He slammed Felix against the wall, his face just inches from the freckled boy’s. “You’re going to regret everything you filthy fag.”

“You should really get new insults,” Felix said with more confidence than he really felt. “Fag is starting to get old.”

“You son of a bitch!” He growled and reeled back before punching Felix square in the jaw. Felix fell heavily, the last thing he expected was being hit. His face throbbed, but he was more focused on the satisfied look on his ex friend’s face.

He kicked Felix in the ribs painfully before couching next to him.

“If you bring your little faggy boyfriend into this, we’ll make sure to finish what he didn’t last year, you hear?”

“D-don’t you fucking dare-” It hurt to breathe. The boy gripped Felix by the hair and tugged it painfully.

“Don’t what, Lix?” He grinned.

“Don’t touch him.” Felix ground out, trying not to cry.

“And what if I do? What will you do then?”

“I’ll make you regret it.” Felix promised, fire burning in his eyes. He saw the boy falter for a second before he stood and kicked him one last time.

“I’d like to see you try.” He spit directly onto Felix’s cheek before leaving the bathroom. The silence was deafening as Felix sat up and winced. Nothing felt broken, just sore - like he had done too many sit ups or something.

“Lix? Are you okay?” Jisung opened the door and gasped when he saw the state his friend was in. “Holy fuck what happened?”

“I’m fine,” He said, turning his head to try and hide the red swelling that was spreading along his jaw. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“What did he do?” Jisung dropped to his knees and gently touched Felix’s jaw. His cool fingers actually felt nice against the throbbing pain, and Felix found himself leaning into the touch.

“Um, punched my jaw and kicked my side twice, though I kind of deserved the punch.” He didn’t open his eyes. Jisung’s hand on his face felt really nice.

“You didn’t deserve this.” Jisung hissed, his blood starting to boil.

“Nah, I brought up his sister. I knew it was a sore spot, but I was mad… maybe I’m just as bad as he is…”

“Absolutely not,” Jisung cut him off instantly. “You could never be as bad as him.”

“I know I should fight back, but I always feel… frozen whenever anything happens,” Felix said casually, finally opening his eyes. Jisung moved to sit on the floor next to him. Felix rested his head on the other boy’s shoulder and sighed. “I know how to defend myself. I used to do taekwondo. I used to win competitions even! But when they corner me like that I… I still don’t want to hurt them. They were my friends… my only friends for years. I don’t- I don’t know how Min managed to turn them against me so fast but fuck… I can’t hit them.”

“And that just proves you’re so much better than them,” Jisung said soothingly, pulling Felix into a soft hug. He didn’t want to hurt the other boy anymore than he already was.

“Come on, lunch is almost over and you should go to the nurse, at least for some painkillers and an icepack.”

“Will you go with me?” Felix didn’t know why he felt like he needed Jisung to walk him to the nurse, but the though of being alone scared him shitless.

“Of course Lix,” Jisung smiled and Felix suddenly felt better. “Come on, let’s get our stuff and we can start heading over. Be careful with your side, okay?”

* * *

  
It took all of two hours for things to get worse. Felix had started to feel a little better. They ran into Chan and Woojin on the way to the nurse, and he sat with Hyungjin in their shared class once he got back, but as soon as class let out things got worse.

He went to his locker to switch some books and froze.

Someone had written slurs all over the ugly beige paint in black and red marker. Most of the slurs weren’t too bad - things he and his friends would call each other jokingly - but others were… bad.

Worthless.  
Faggot.  
Freak.  
Kill yourself.  
Kill yourself.  
Do us a favor and kill yourself.

Felix didn’t even realize he was crying until he heard laughter. He glanced behind him and saw Min and his two ex friends, huddle across the hall and snickering to each other. Felix could see black and red ink on their fingers.

He took a deep breath and ignored the writing. He opened his locked and got his stuff, closing it loudly before walking away.

He knew he should talk to Jisung - to Chan and the others because they could help him through this - but the threat from the bathroom scared him.

What would they do if they found out Jisung knew?

“Lix!” Speak of the devil. Jisung called to Felix, who accidently walked right past him.

“Sunggie sorry I- what the fuck?” Felix felt like he was going to throw up.

“Oh this? It’s nothing.” Jisung grinned despite the large bruise forming on his face. It looked like someone slammed his cheek against something hard… like a locker?

“Who did this?” Felix whispered, his eyes stinging.

“I didn’t even recognize him,” Jisung said, his smile dropping. “It’s fine though. I’ll be more careful.”

It hit him. They attacked Jisung because Jisung went to comfort Felix in the bathroom. They attacked Jisung because of him.

Felix thought he was going to throw up.

“Hey, you wanna hang out after school? Minho had to cancel the dance practice because something about the color guard needing the room or something, and Changbin hyung said he needed a break from work, but he just wants to hang out. I’ve tried telling him he doesn’t need an excuse to spend time with us, but he’s so stuck on his bad boy image that…”

Felix tuned out Jisung’s rambling, trying to think of a way to keep his friend safe.

* * *

  
It looked so harmless between his small fingers. The silver seemed harmless, but Felix knew how sharp it was.

He felt so guilty. The entire time he was hanging out with Jisung and Changbin, all be could focus on was the darkening bruise marring his friend’s beautiful features.

And it was all his fault.

The first line on his arm was barely even there. Felix didn’t even feel any pain.

The second was a little deeper - just enough for a single drop of blood to bead up. He hissed. It hurt, but not a lot. His side hurt more.

He tried again, trying to add a little more pressure. His soft skin seemed to want to break open, and a thin line of crimson ran down his arm. The feeling made him whimper, but he deserved it. They were right. He deserved it. It was his fault. If only he hadn’t been… himself… Jisung would never have gotten hurt.

Felix looked at his arm in horror.

He had cut himself.

He quickly cleaned the small cuts and covered them with a large bandage. He was going to have to wear long sleeves for a long time, until the lines faded. He promised himself he would never do it again. What kind of freak willingly bleeds like that?

Felix folded the blade back up and hid it in his bathroom cabinet, where no one but he ever goes.

He promised himself that he would never do it again, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to throw the blade out.

* * *

  
“Aren’t you warm?” Hyungjin asked his friend. Their classroom was notorious for having messed up temperature control. One day it could be sweltering and the next they were shivering. That day just happened to be the former, and it was clear from the flush on Felix’s cheeks that he was very, very warm.

“I’m fine.” Feix said quickly, his arm stinging under his sleeve. A whole day later and they still hurt.

“Are you sure? You’re all red.”

“Yeah, I forgot to wear a shirt under this.” Felix lied with a smile, and knew his friend bought the lie when he just chucked.

“I’ve done that before,” Hyungjin said. “It sucks but you remember next time, that’s for sure!”

“Haha, yeah…” Felix trailed off, looking back towards the teacher.

He felt guilty. He hadn’t even known these people for a full week, and yet it was so easy to lie to them. They wanted to be his friend, to let him into their group with open arms, and he was deceiving them.

The guilt was suffocating, and Felix felt like he was going to cry from the pressure in his chest. He quickly excused himself and rushed to the bathroom, where `a stray tear ran down his face. He pulled up his sleeve and looked at the red lines with angry eyes. He dug his blunt nails into the wounds, the pain flaring up immediately. He hissed a little, but the pressure in his chest lessened as soon as the pain started to fade.

Felix dug a little deeper, causing blood to bead up again. The pressure seemed to fade more and he was able to take a deep breath.

He used a paper towel and wiped up the blood before rolling down his sleeve and going back to class, feeling a little lighter than before.

* * *

  
Felix felt like a failure.

He promised himself. He PROMISED.

But Jisung came to school with another bruise on his face and refused to tell Felix where it came from. He didn’t tell him, but Felix knew.

It was all his fault.

He sobbed, the movement causing him to slice deeper than before. The pain didn’t hit at once, but when it did it caused him to cry harder.

The guilt was eating him alive. Because of him, Jisung was getting hurt. He was lying to his friends and his mom. He was turning into someone he didn’t even recognize.

His phone buzzed. He had made some excuse to avoid hanging out with everyone after school for the third time that week and he felt disgusting. They were trying so hard to reach out to him, but because he was afraid he pushed them away.

Felix was isolated, and it was his own damn fault.

God, Jisung would hate him if he ever saw how pathetic Felix had gotten. His friends would hate him. His mom would hate him.

He hates himself enough as it is. He didn’t need the hatred of the people he loved as well.

He buried his face in his hands, not caring that the blood was running down his arms, staining his skin.

* * *

  
“Felix, just fucking talk to me!” Jisung yelled at him, drawing the attention of the people in the hallway. He hadn’t spoken to Jisung or anyone else from the group for almost three weeks, and each moment killed him. Felix hesitated but kept walking. Or at least, he tried to. Jisung lungned forward and grabbed Felix’s arm as he continued to yell. “I don’t know what the fuck is up with you but you’ve been ignoring everyone for weeks-”

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Felix screamed in pain as he ripped his arm away from Jisung, who just stared at him with wide, watery eyes. “Just… just leave me alone, okay?”

“What’s going on? Is it those asshole again? I told you, I’ll protect you-”

“I don’t need you to protect me,” It killed Felix to talk to Jisung like that, but he needed to stop Jisung from any more pain. “I don’t need you Jisung.”

“What…?” A tear fell from Jisung’s red rimmed eyes and Felix wanted to throw up.

“You heard me. I don’t need you… you fag.” A part of Felix’s soul died at the sight of Jisung’s heartbroken face, but it needed to be done. He could feel the blood soaking through his shirt where Jisung reopened the cuts.

“F- you can’t be serious Felix.” Jisung tried one last time, but Felix just turned and walked away. He could hear Jisung sobbing, but before he could run back and apologize he walked out of the school.

No one saw the tears running down his own face.

* * *

  
He wasn’t hesitant anymore. He wanted to hurt, because he deserved it.

He deserved to hurt. He deserved a cut for each tear he made Jisung cry.

He hurt the first person he loved because he wanted to protect him.

He really was a hypocrite, wasn’t he?

He didn’t hear the door open over his sobs. His arm hurt so badly and it just made him cry more. He didn’t want to hurt, but he deserved it. His breathing started getting faster and faster as the blood started flowing slower and slower. What if he went too deep? He didn’t think he had, but what if?

“Oh fuck! Felix!” Someone screamed as Felix felt someone rip the blade from his fingers. “What did you do?”

“It’s fine,” he muttered, his eyes drifting shut. “I deserve it.”

“What? Stay awake! You idiot”

“I made Jisungie cry…” Felix’s words started to slur together a little.

“That’s- we’ll talk about that as soon as we stop the bleeding.” The voice said, and Felix just nodded. He was too tired to fight back.

He hurt Jisung - the one person who would never hurt him. He deserved to bleed. It was all his fault.

He wished the person would stop trying to bandage his arm. He deserved it. He wanted to hurt. He started crying again, muttering nonsense into the person’s chest.

“Oh Lix….” Jisung whispered in horror. It was so much worse than he thought. He knew something was wrong when he saw Felix limping through the halls, but hearing his friend yell at him made something snap inside. He knew it was a mistake to grab Felix’s arm the second he did it - he could feel the blood soaking through his thin long sleeved shirt and stain Jisung’s fingers as Felix ripped his arm away. The words he said to Jisung stung, but the fear and pain in the freckled boy’s eyes is what hurt Jisung the most.

After Felix had left, Changbin ran up to Jisung, asking why he was crying in the middle of the hallway. Jisung tried to chase after Felix, but his friends surrounded him and brought him to an empty classroom, making him talk.

At first, they had been furious at Felix.

How dare he say something so hurtful to their Felix? How could they have been so wrong about the boy? They thought he was a good kid, but he was just as bad as the assholes back at Jisung’s old school.

“Hyung, is that blood?” Jeongin’s voice shook. Jisung looked down at his hands and saw the browning stain on his fingers. His stomach rolled.

“It’s not mine,” he whispered, more tears running down his flushed cheeks. “Felix, he-”

“What did he do this time?” Hyungjin snapped, still seething in rage. After he had opened up to that asshole, he turned around and hurt his Jisung. The next time Hyungjin saw Felix, he was going to break his damn freckled nose.

“I think he’s cutting,” Jisung admitted. The room felt cold. “I knew he was hiding stuff from me, so I went after the guy that hurt him in the bathroom. He threatened that if I tried to interfere, they would gang up on me too. When Felix saw the bruise on my cheek… he stopped talking to me. I think they’re threatening him… God, this is exactly what happened to me and now it’s happening to him and there’s nothing I can do…”

“Jisung, what do you mean? Were you threatened?” Chan’s voice was soft but Jisung could still hear the tension behind his words.

“Not me, someone else.” Jisung couldn’t look his hyung in the eye.

“Who?” Chan asked, trying to make Jisung look at him. Tears ran faster down the younger boy’s cheeks. “Jisung, who did they threaten?”

“It doesn’t matter now. That’s over. We have to focus on Felix! He’s being bullied and they’re threatening him to-”

“Jisung, was the threat what caused you to…” Chan trailed off, sounding almost afraid. He was connecting dots that he never wanted to know.

“Hyung… it’s in the past.” Jisung could barely choke the words out.

“As your hyung you have to tell me what happened-”

“They threatened to hurt you!” Jisung screamed at Chan, covering his face with his hands as he sobbed. “They said they were going to hurt you if I didn’t- if I didn’t kill myself! I-I was scared, because they really would have… I couldn’t let them hurt you hyung…”

“Jisung…” Chan stared at his friend as if he had never seen the boy before.

“I didn’t want to tell you cuz everything is fine now, and it doesn’t matter anymore-”

“Of course it matters!” Chan didn’t mean to shout, but his blood was roaring in his ears and he couldn’t control his voice. “How could you not tell me? I thought you told me everything…”

“I hurt you enough hyung,” Jisung looked down, the guilt from the year before crashing down on him harder than ever. “I- I hurt you so much… I couldn’t hurt you again.”

“You idiot.” Chan lurched forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Jisung’s shoulders. Jisung could feel heat soaking into his shoulder and he started crying again. He made Chan cry again. He hurt Chan. Again.

“You don’t think…” Seungmin looked between his friend, his mouth turned down in a frown.

“What?” Minho asked, still in shock from everything that had just happened.

“What if Felix was scared of hurting Jisung again so he pushed him away?”

“Oh fuck-” Jisung pushed Chan away and tried to run to the door only to be caught by Changbin before his fingers could touch the handle.

“Where are you going?” Changbin asked, holding the struggling boy.

“I have to find Felix,” Jisung fought against his hyung’s grip. “He’s going to do something fucking stupid if we don’t stop him-”

“Where does he live?” Chan asked, pulling out his keys. Jisung froze.

“I- I don’t know.” he realized they only hung out at Jisung’s house.

“I do,” Changbin said softly. “I asked about him in the office back on the day Chan hyung took him to Sunggie’s to patch up the back of his head.”

“You know too much about everything.” Minho muttered.

“I’ll drive Jisung to Felix’s. Everyone else meet at my house.” Chan ordered, his tears stopped but his eyes still red rimmed.

The boys scattered and Jisung ran to Chan’s car. It was the longest ten minute ride in his life. Jisung didn’t see Felix’s mom’s car in the driveway, and that just scared him more. Felix was home alone?

The front door was unlocked and he raced up the stairs, looking for a sign of life. All the lights were off, expect for one that was leaking out from under the bathroom door. As Jisung got closer, he could hear gut wrenching sobs from behind the wall.

“Felix?” Jisung tried to call, but his voice came out as a whimper. He tested the knob and thanked whatever god was up there that it was unlocked. He threw the door open and felt his lunch rise in his throat.

Felix was curled up in the corner of the bathroom, sobbing and bleeding. The whole room was covered in red, and Jisung thought he would never smell that much metalic in one place ever again.

“Oh Fuck! Felix!” He screamed, falling to his knees and ripping the blade from Felix’s fingers. He didn’t care that the crimson was soaking into his pants, or that the blade slit his thumb deep. He could hear Chan running up the steps. “What did you do?”

“It’s okay,” Felis sounded tired and Jisung’s heart stopped. “I deserve it.”

Jisung turned his head and threw up just as Chan skidded to a stop in front of the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

Jisung was exhausted.

Chan had come in at just the right time. He examined the wounds on Felix’s arm and sighed in relief. There were a lot of them, but none of them needed stitches.

“Judging by the amount of blood,” Chan said quietly. “He passed out from a panic attack, not blood loss.”

“If we take him to a hospital, he’s going to freak out… and the nearest one is almost an hour away.”

“We’ll keep an eye on him…” Chan sounded reluctant, but knew taking the boy to a hospital would make things even worse. “Look, he’s already starting to wake up. Sung, go make him some tea with extra sugar.”

“Okay.” Jisung said, eager to get out of the bathroom. The scent of blood followed him as he went to the kitchen. He didn’t know where anything was, so it took him a few minutes of rummaging to find everything he needed. He found a bottle of painkillers as he searched, knowing Felix was going to need them soon.

While he waited for the water to boil, Jisung let himself cry.

The past few hours had been so emotionally taxing that he wanted to sleep for a year. Is this what Chan felt when he found Jisung after his attempt? God, now he’s up there with Felix, wrapping his arm too…

Chan shouldn’t have to deal with so much. He’s just a kid too.

Jisung poured the water into the chipped mug, watching the tea start to color the water instantly. He poured the amount of sugar he normally took in his tea then added a little extra, stirring until the crystals were completely dissolved. He balanced the cup carefully as he made his way back up the stairs.

“He’s in his bedroom.” Chan said, making Jisung jump a little. The younger boy just nodded and went to the one open door in the hall.

Felix was sitting up in his bed, staring down at his left arm blankly. Chan did a good job with the wrapping. The stark white hadn’t been stained yet, which was a good sign. It meant the bleeding had already stopped, or at least slowed down.

“Why are you here?” Felix asked, his voice cracking. He refused to look up at Jisung. His words from before still ringing in his ears.

“Here, drink this before it gets cold,” Jisung ignored Felix’s question. “It’s going to be really sweet but you lost- you lost a lot of blood. I also brought painkillers. You’re gonna want them when the shock wears off.”

Jisung wished Chan was there. He was scared of being alone with Felix. What if he said the wrong thing? Chan always knows what to say.

Felix opened his mouth as if to say something before closing it again and taking the mug. He didn’t drink it at first - he just held it and let the warmth soak into his freezing fingers. He was so, so cold. He took a sip of the tea and couldn’t help but make a face at just how sweet it was. Jisung let out a light chuckle.

“I warned you,” He said softly, as if he was afraid of being yelled at. “Hyung said to make it extra sweet, so I put my normal amount then a little more.”

“You’re covered in blood…” Felix whispered, finally finding the courage to look up. Jisung was surprised for a second - he had almost completely forgotten about that. “You can wear my clothes. Pants are… in the second drawer from the bottom and sweatshirts are in the closet.” Felix looked down at this cup, as if he wasn’t allowed to see Jisung for as long as he did. Jisung’s chest hurt.

Jisung went to the drawer and pulled out a pair of sweatpants that looked long enough and grabbed a hoodie that he had seen Felix wear a few times. He changed quickly, and in silence. The pants were just right, which was weird because Jisung usually wore them long, but the hoodie sleeves went over his fingers and smelled like Felix and it made his heart beat a little faster.

“I’m sorry.” Felix said softly from the bed. The mug was almost completely full, only a sip or two missing.

“It’s okay, I can get the stains out with some hot water and-”

“For everything,” Felix cut him off. His face twisted in anger, tears running down his cheeks. He still didn’t look up. “For saying that to you and… and coming into your life just to make it hard again. I didn’t want you to get hurt… I never wanted you to get hurt… when they started hurting you I- I didn’t know what to do. Letting you go scared me, but seeing you all bruised up scared me more. If I had known that being my friend was going to end up like this… I never would have gone to the library-”

“Are you saying you regret being my friend?” Jisung asked, his throat stinging. Felix shook his head and sobbed.

“No, no I don’t- don’t regret being your friend… I could never, but… but you’re such- you give off this light and it’s my fault that you kept getting hit and I would rather be alone forever than be the reason you don’t smile as much.”

“You’re an idiot,” Jisung sat on the edge of the bed. The sudden movement caused the tea to slosh over the edge of the mug and spill on Felix’s hand a little. Felix didn’t even blink when the hot tea hit his skin. “You’re… you’re the same as me, I guess. I was your Chan hyung… now I know how he feels, huh?”

“You told him?”

“I didn’t mean to. It just… slipped out earlier. He’s going to lecture me hard in a few days, but right now I’m safe from Papa Chan and his lectures of death.” Jisung chuckled, knowing full well how long could go on a rant for. The attempt at a joke worked, and the corners of Felix’s mouth turned up in a ghost of a smile.

“Hey guys,” Chan poked his head in, speaking in English. Jisung noticed how Felix seemed to relax at the familiar words, even if he hadn’t meant to. “I cleaned the bathroom and got rid of the- the blade. Felix, if you have anymore I need you to tell me.”

“Just the one.” he said softly, staring at the mug.

“Felix,” Chan also sat on the edge of the bed, closer to Felix’s pillows. “Look at me, okay? It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be sore for a while, but you’re going to heal and you’re going to be okay. We’ll handle the bullies, all of us. The others are already at my house. They’re waiting for us. We’re a family now, and no one has to face anything alone, you hear me? We aren’t going to let you handle this on your own.”

“Chris…” Felix whispered, tears flowing down his cheeks again. He finally tore his eyes away from his tea and saw Chan was crying as well.

“You are not alone Felix. You’ll never be alone again.” Chan reached out and covered one of Felix’s smaller hands with his. Jisung quickly reached out and took the mug from his friend just in time for Felix to threw himself in Chan’s arms and sob. Jisung could see how he flinched when his arm touched Chan’s shoulder but he didn’t pull back.  
Jisung never thought he would be on the other side. He was the one bandaged and crying, trying to find something to hold onto. Now his friend was in that position, and Jisung realized he would rather go through it a thousand times over than let Felix experience this pain even once.

“Lix, when is your mom coming home?” Jisung asked softly. Felix muttered something that was muffled by Chan’s neck.

“He said not till late,” Chan translated. “Why don’t you pack a bag. I’ll leave a note for her saying you’re sleeping over Jisung’s for a project, okay? I doubt you want her to know just yet…”

“Please don’t t-tell her.” Felix picked his head up and rubbed his eyes roughly. His face was swollen and red, and it made Jisung’s chest hurt. Felix was too beautiful to look so sad.

“We’re going to tell her eventually, just not right now,” Chan said, knowing what kind of problems it would cause if she tried to step in. Felix would be taken away, and that’s the last thing the boy needed at the moment. He needed his friends, not a hospital room. “Now finish your tea and Jisung can help you pack, okay? We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready. There’s no rush, alright?”

“Okay hyung.” Felix said, sounding miserable. He took the mug back from Jisung without another complaint.

“I’m going to call Woojin and fill the guys in,” Chan leaned in and pressed a kiss to Felix’s forehead. Jisung didn’t like the spark of jealousy that flared in his chest at the sight, but he didn’t let anything show. “Jisunggie is here, but if you need anything else just yell for me.”

“Okay hyung.” Felix said again, reaching out to take the mug from his friend. He took another sip and Jisung watched for any changes in his expression. Chan ruffled his hair gently before pulling out his phone and slipping out of the room, leaving Jisung and Felix alone.

“Felix…”

“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said that to you,” Felix sounded like he was going to cry again. “And, I’m sorry for trying to hide this. I know I promised I would come to you with anything but I felt so- so guilty. So fucking guilty about everything and telling you would have made the guilt even worse.”

“It’s okay Lix. I understand the guilt… way too much honestly.” Jisung bit his lip to keep the tears back. He hated that Felix felt exactly the way he had. Felix sipped at his tea until it was gone, and Jisung took the empty mug without a word, putting it on the side table and turning his attention back to his friend.

“I knew I shouldn’t start hurting myself. I knew it would just snowball but… but nothing made the guilt go away,” His tears were splashing onto his hands. “The first time was just little scrapes… but they just kept getting deeper and deeper…”

“Felix, how many times have you cut since you stopped talking to us?” Jisung didn’t know if he should ask that question, but he was scared. Felix had been avoiding them for almost three weeks. That’s twenty one days that he could have been ripping into himself and watching himself bleed out, all alone.

“Almost every day,” Felix said, as if he was afraid of being reprimanded. Jisung’s stomach dropped. “Sometimes it felt like I couldn’t breathe, and everything got all fuzzy. Like, my eyes got fuzzy and my fingers felt staticy and I couldn’t focus on anything. I thought I was going to die... The only thing that made it go away was hurting myself.”

“Sounds like you were having panic attacks. Really bad ones…”

“Do you hate me now?” Felix asked suddenly. “Cuz I’d understand if you do… I’ve been a shitty friend. I don’t deserve you…”

“Don’t say that!” Jisung said loudly, jumping on the bed, almost straddling the other boy. Felix flinched and Jisung sat back on his heels, not wanting to upset the freckled boy any more than he already was. “Felix, you deserve the whole damn world… I would give it to you if I could.”

“I don’t. I’m worthless-” Felix tried to cover his face with his hands but Jisung beat him to it. He was careful with his bandaged arm, pinning both wrists above Felix’s head and straddling his waist - much like the first night Felix had slept over. God, how had so much gone wrong since then?

“You’re not worthless Felix,” Jisung said, looking down at Felix’s red rimmed eyes. Felix was looking up at him with confusion and something else. Jisung realized his eyes were begging Jisung to convince him, even if Felix didn’t realize that’s what he needed. He wanted to believe Jisung, but he was scared. “You are so amazing. You’re so kind and sweet and lovable. You instantly made everyone fall in love with you when you came over. You light up every room you walk into. Your smile… makes everything feel like it’s okay for a little bit. You’re always so warm and open and- and you befriended me when I was just the weird kid that sat in the manga section in the library. You’ve changed my life so much. I don’t want you to leave me Felix…”

“I’m sorry,” Felix was crying again. He hated how much he was crying, but seeing Jisung hovering over him, his friend’s face red and blotchy from tears that he caused, made him want to sob. “I’m so sorry-”

Jisung didn’t want Felix to apologize anymore. He never wanted to hear Felix apologize again. He didn’t think. He leaned down and swallowed the apologies dripping from Felix’s lips. Felix was surprised for a moment, but didn’t try to break the kiss - didn’t want to break the kiss. Jisung’s lips were soft and felt right against his own. The overwhelming guilt that was crushing his chest started to lessen, without having to hurt himself.

When Felix realized that Jisung was making the pain go away, he pushed into the kiss, smiling a little against Jisung’s shocked inhale.

“Shit-” Felix cursed when he twisted his arm just a little too much. Jisung instantly let go of his wrists and started to panic as Felix cradled his arm to his chest. Thin lines of red were starting to show through the white and Jisung realized he must have reopened some of the cuts when he was kissing Felix.

Kissing…. Felix.

Jisung blushed.

“Are you okay?” he asked though the shock.

“Yeah, it just stung,” Felix answered with more life in his words than Jisung had heard in days. “Jisung… you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.”

“Do that- you mean kiss you?” Was Felix rejecting him?

“I’m not good for you,” Felix wouldn’t look him in the eye. “You shouldn’t have to feel obligated to-”

“God you’re stupid.” Jisung cut Felix off by pressing their lips together again. Nothing hard, or rough. Jisung carefully slotted his mouth again Felix’s internally smiling at how Felix seemed to gasp into the kiss but didn’t try to push Jisung away. In fact, Felix leaned into the kiss, putting more pressure into it.

“Jisung-”

“I’m not doing anything I don’t want to,” he said, his breath fanning over Felix’s reddened lips. Jisung felt giddy. He had been the one to do that. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time… I’m sorry I finally found the courage after I almost lost you.”

“I won’t leave,” Felix buried his head in Jisung’s chest, wrapping his arms around the other boy’s waist. “I’m sorry I made you think I was leaving. I was being an asshole.”

“Let me take care if you? I promise I won’t let you fall Lix.” Jisung whispered into Felix’s hair, taking the way the freckled boy tightened his arms around his waist as a yes.

“Woojin ordered food for everyone. Do you want help packing Lix?” Chan came into the room, not phased at the sight of Jisung still straddling Felix’s waist or of Felix hugging him close. “I left a note on the kitchen counter. You might want to pack for a few nights, just in case. Tomorrow is Friday, and you can probably spend the weekend with either me or Jisung. I really don’t want you to be alone right now.”

“Ah, right,” Felix tapped Jisung’s thigh and the other boy swung his leg over to let him out. He stood unsteadily, smiling at Chan when he went over to help the boy stay upright. Felix quickly packed, throwing some sleep clothes and two outfits into the duffel figuring he could mix and match. He tossed some socks and underwear along with his favorite beanie incase his hair gets messed up. “I just have to grab my toothbrush-”

“I have an extra one at my house,” Chan said quickly. He didn’t want Felix going into the bathroom so soon after what just happened. The memory, mixed with the leftover smell of bleach, might cause him to panic. “Is there anything else you needed?”

“Um, I don’t think so.” Felix tried zipping the bag, but there was no strength in his left hand to hold the bag in place.

“Here, I got it.” Chan swooped in and zipped the bag, quickly slinging it over one shoulder.

“Come on, the others are waiting.” Jisung held out his hand and Felix took it with a smile. Somehow, Jisung’s hand seemed to fit even more in his own.

* * *

  
The silence was deafening.

Felix refused to look anyone in the eye, opting to hide his nose in Jisung’s neck to avoid the looks he knew were going to be aimed at him.

“Why-” Jeongin started to say before backtracking. “You don’t have to hide anything anymore hyung. I know I’m younger than you, but you can rely on me. And the others of course.” he blushed and looked away, causing Jisung to chuckle.

“The real problem is those assholes,” Changbin said, the frown from that afternoon still etched into his features. “I tried to look into Min but there’s literally nothing on him. He lived in LA for a few years but that’s where the trail stops.”

“If Binnie hyung can’t find anything, we’re really stuck.” Seungmin chimed in with a pout.

“Here, I just got a notification from the food place,” Woojin said, trying to lighten the mood a little. At the mention of food, everyone seemed to perk up. “They said our order is ready. Jisung and Felix, want to come with me to get it? There are going to be a few bags.”

“Oh, sure I don’t mind.” Jisung said before turning to Felix.

“Yeah, okay.” Felix looked at the ground. His left hand was shoved in the pocket of his hoodie, the right hand tightly held by Jisung.

No one commented on how close the two suddenly seemed, but Jisung could tell they were happy.

The three boys piled into Woojin’s hand-me-down car, Felix and Jisung sitting in the back together. Woojin didn’t comment but smiled at them through the rearview mirror. The ride was quiet, but it was the nice kind of quiet that you feel comfortable in. Felix hadn’t spent a whole lot of time one on one with the older boy.

They pulled up to the plaza, finding a parking spot right in front. It took no time at all to get up to the counter and give the name, and the employee went to gather the order for them. Woojin was just pulling his wallet out when a voice called to them.

“Well, well, well. Look who we have here.” The voice caused shivers to run down Felix’s spine. He refused to turn around.

“What do you want Min?” He asked, his hand squeezing Jisung’s.

“Wait, you’re the asshole that’s been-” Jisung spun around only to freeze. Felix felt Jisung’s hand go limp.

“Good to see you again, Sunggie,” Min said with a dangerous smirk. “It’s been a few years, hasn’t it? Talk to your mom at all recently?”

“H-hyuk… why are you here?” Jisung looked like he was going to throw up or pass out, or both. Felix could see his friend’s normally tan face pale and start to turn green.

“What, can’t I say hi to an old friend?” Min teased and it clicked.

Min was the one that kissed Jisung at church. The one that made jisung realize he was bi. The one that made Jisung’s mother hate him.

“Alright guys, can you grab a bag- what’s happening here?” Woojin walked into the middle of the stand off, the smile quickly fading from his face.

“Just friends catching up,” Min grinned and the sight made Felix sick to his stomach. “See you around, yeah?” He winked at Jisung, who started crying. Min easily left the restaurant, as if nothing happened.

“Jisung? What’s going on?” Woojin tried wiping Jisung’s tears but they kept falling faster and faster.

“I want to go home,” Jisung whimpered, his eyes wide but unseeing. Felix took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Please hyung I want to go home now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, shit! Guess it's not getting better just yet! Ugh I love conflict UwU


	6. Chapter 6

Felix felt numb. It wasn’t from the painkillers that he took before following Jisung up to his room to top the throbbing from his arm, but from the way Jisung completely shut down. He hadn’t spoken a single word since then, not even opening his mouth to eat once they got back to Chan’s house.

He quietly explained what happened to Chan, who looked worried that his friend was so still. The older boy’s face twisted in worry and anger, but he didn’t say anything. He pulled Felix into a tight hug and whispered in his ear.

“Please take care of him.” He whispered, holding Felix tightly. The younger boy nodded into his hyung’s shoulder - a silent promise.

Jisung tugged on Felix’s arm before everyone even finished eating, tears brimming his eyes. Felix knew what his friend was trying to say and bid their friends goodnight before walking Jisung over to his house. Jisung’s father was already asleep, so they had to slip in as quiet as possible. Felix got a text from Chan, promising the freckled boy that they would figure something out for Monday. He shot back a text of his own, telling Chan that they made it back and promising to keep him updated on Jisungs condition.

“Come on Sunggie, don’t you wanna put one some sweatpants?” Felix prompted. Jisung nodded minutely, moving with numb fingers to change. Felix followed his friend and slipped on his sleep clothes. He knew he should change his bandaging, but he knew he couldn’t do it himself and he knew Jisung wasn’t in the right mind to lend a hand.

Jisung tugged on Felix’s sleeve again. Felix winced when the movement scraped his cuts but he didn’t make any sounds.

“Let’s lay down, okay?” Felix whispered, guiding Jisung to the bed. The second he had Jisung on his side, the boy curled into Felix’s chest and started to sob. Felix felt his chest tighten, but he held Jisung as tight as he could.

Jisung cried and cried, letting out all the fear and anxiety out at once. Felix couldn’t possibly even imagine seeing the person that almost ruined your life after so many years - couldn’t imagine what was going on in his head. Jisung’s sobs started to slow into sniffles, his fingers twisted tightly into Felix’s shirt.

“You can go to sleep love, I got you,” Felix whispered, the pet name slipping out. Jisung whimpered and tried to bury his face farther into Felix’s chest as if he was trying to hide from the world. “It’s alright Sunggie, I got you. You’re safe now.”

Felix could feel Jisung fall asleep in his arms. The boy relaxed and went limp, his breathing evening out and fanning against Felix’s collar bone in an oddly comforting way. As awful as that day had been, laying there with Jisung in his arms made things feel a little bit better - as if he had been made to hold Jisung and keep him safe.

He felt sick that he tried pushing Jisung away. He never wanted to let the other boy out of his sight again - never wanted to lose him.

Felix let his eyes drift shut, the shock and blood loss and emotional strain taking its toll on the boy, and he fell asleep quickly.

* * *

  
“Jisung?” Felix woke up cold and confused. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was, and a few more to realize why being cold felt so wrong. He sat up, but couldn’t see anything. He listened carefully, but he couldn’t hear anything either.

He swung his feet over the edge of the bed frowning at how cold the floor was. He was able to see a faint light coming from the bathroom that was connected to Jisung’s bedroom and felt his stomach sink, but he didn’t know why. For all he knew, his friend just went to the bathroom.

But a minute passed and there was still no sign of life coming from the bathroom other than the light and Felix was getting scared. His arm throbbed painfully as he gently knocked on the door.

“Sunggie? Are you okay?” He whispered, not wanting to wake his dad down the hall. The only response he got was a strangled sob and Felix knew something wasn’t right. He tested the knob and felt his breath catch when it turned in his hand.

The sight in front of him might have broke Felix more than everything Min did to him combined.

Jisung sat on the floor in his boxers, the fabric pulled up to his hip. His thigh was as bad - if not worse - than Felix’s arm, and even from the doorway Felix could see old scarring from his hip to his knee. Jisung stared up at Felix with wide, horrified eyes, his hands shaking as if he was expecting to be yelled at.

“Fuck, Jisung-” Felix crouched beside his friend, pulling at the toilet paper and dabbing at the crimson. God, there was so much of it and it was all coming from Jisung.

“I’m sorry… god I’m sorry,” Jisung sobbed, covering his face with bloody hands, smearing the blood on his flushed cheeks. Felix could see his blade on the floor, covered in crimson but still showing silver through the carnage. “I’m sorry! I’m s-sorry! Please don’t hate me! Don’t take me back to the hospital! I- I hate it there… please, I’m sorry.”

“I’m could never hate you, and I’m not going to take you to a hospital, okay? Can I help you with your leg?” Felix didn’t know his heart could break and break, but every time Jisung apologized, Felix felt something else inside him snap.

“I didn’t mean to,” Jisung sniffled, trying to fight back tears again. He didn’t flinch when Felix passed over the particularly deep cuts. The toilet water was already pure red from the blood soaked toilet paper. “I had a nightmare and wanted some water and I just… I didn’t mean to relapse. I haven’t hurt myself since I got out after my attempt, I swear… Please believe me Lix. Please don’t hate me-”

Felix couldn’t listen to anymore. He leaned in and covered any more apologizes that could have escaped Jisung’s bite-redded lips with a kiss, soft and sweet. Felix could feel when Jisung started crying again, his hot tears cooling on Felix’s freckles as if they were his own. When felix pulled away, Jisung tried to cover his face again, only to be stopped.

“It’s okay Sunggie,” Felix said softly as he stood and ran a washcloth under warm water. He started with gently wiping the drying blood off Jisung’s cheeks, smiling faintly when he noticed Jisung leaning into his touch. “It’s alright. I’m here now. You had a really, really bad day. You’re not a failure for relapsing, you hear me?”

He wiped the blood from Jisung’s hands, which were trembling. He had to rinse the cloth off before moving to Jisung’s leg, were the cuts had thankfully started to clot. Once his skin was cleared, Felix covered them with toilet paper. He found a roll of medical tape under the sink and taped the paper down. He was glad to see the white didn’t stain.

Felix pulled Jisung’s boxer leg down to cover the makeshift bandaging and mopped up the crimson that dropped onto the floor. Part of Felix was grateful that there wasn’t much of a mess,, but it also broke his heart because it showed that Jisung knew what he was doing - showed that Jisung had done this too many times.

Once all the blood was gone, Felix went to Jisung, who hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Come on Sunggie, let’s go back to bed,” He said gently, helping Jisung stand. Jisung instantly wrapped his arms around Felix’s waist, burying his face in Felix’s neck. Felix felt his heart skip a beat when Jisung instantly relaxed in his arms. “It’s cold here. Our bed is warm, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Jisung whispered. Felix walked Jisung back, letting him curl up under the covers before climbing in himself. Jisung instantly clung to Felix, his chest flush to Felix’s, their heartbeats starting to beat in time with each other’s.

“How are you feeling now?” Felix asked after a few minutes of a comfortable silence.

“Better,” His voice was a little stronger but still cracked. “I’m sorry.”

“No more apologizing, okay?” Felix tried pulling Jisung closer but they were already as close as they could get. “I got you.”

“Thanks Lix,” Jisung sighed, smiling a little against Felix’s collarbone. “I don’t know why I fucked up like that…”

“You went through hell today Sunggie, it’s understandable that you’re a little messed up from that.”

“Why are you so nice to me?” Jisung’s voice suddenly dropped. “I’m… I have to be a bad person. Why else would this shit keep happening to me? I thought- thought that I would never have to think about him again and now he’s back? How… how did he even find me?” Tears were soaking into Felix’s chest.

“You do not deserve what’s happened to you,” Felix’s voice got deeper as his throat started to sting. “I swear I’ll keep you safe. He’ll never lay a finger on you ever again, you hear me? We’ll- we’ll talk to the others and we’ll figure something out.”

“What can they do?”

“We’ll beat him up,” Felix said with a smile. He could feel Jisung smiling too. “We’re gonna… we’re gonna corner him after school and just scare him into behaving. Changbin hyung is real scary. He’ll never stand a chance.”

“Changbin hyung is as scary as a kitten.” Jisung snickered.

“But Changbin hyung and eight others behind him is pretty intimidating,” Felix grinned. “Min only has those two assholes backing him up. Three on nine? They’ll be begging for forgiveness in no time.”

“You think we could beat Hyuk?”

“Absolutely,” Felix nuzzled his nose in Jisung’s hair. “We’re all so big and scary and we’re gonna beat them up real good. They’ll never even think about hurting you ever again. I promise, I’ll never let you get hurt again.”

“Hmm I love you…” Jisung muttered, his voice slurring as he started to slip into sleep. He pressed his lips against Felix’s neck and the freckled boy could feel a spark go down his spine. He realized what Jisung had said a moment after the boy had fallen asleep and couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.

“Love you too Sunggie,” He hummed, kissing the top of Jisung’s head gently. He closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

  
“From what I was able to find, after Jisung filled me in a little more, Min is a fucking psychopath.” Changbin said seriously, causing the gathered group to groan.

“We’ve known that much hyung,” Jeongin frowned. “Did you find anything helpful?”

“Sassy much?” Seungmin muttered, whining when Jeongin smacked him.

“ANYWAY,” Changbin interrupted with a scowl. “As I was saying, I found some stuff out. Looks like this asshole and his family were kicked out of their church after a scandal. I found some old articles talking about it. Apparently Minhyuk tried to set the chapel on fire and got caught. They moved to LA for the dad’s job - couldn’t find anything on what the job was but I didn’t think that was super important.”

“How did you find that?” Felix asked, in a mix of awe and horror.

“Wasn’t hard once I got his full name. His old twitter account was basically a diary,” Changbin said easily, as if explaining how he got somewhere. “He basically dropped off the face of the earth around May two years ago.”

“May?” Jisung breathed, going pale.

“That’s about when Jisung and I transferred schools.” Chan said, and Felix understood what he was implying. That was about when Jisung tried to kill himself.

“Is there any chance he knew Jisung was here?” Hyungjin asked, sitting forward.

“I don’t know,” Changbin sounded uncomfortable. “If he saw some sort of media coverage maybe, but I didn’t think there was any…”

“Only what we posted… Jisung, do you have any followers that you don’t know?” Chan asked the younger boy. Jisung pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his social media.

“I don’t think so,” he said, eyes glued to his screen. “I blocked all the spam accounts and- fuck…”

“What is it?” Felix looked over Jisung’s shoulder.

“Someone named ‘Minstrel underscore man’ followed be back almost three and a half years ago.”

“What kind of posts does he have?”

“Landscape shots that are a little blurry, pictures of empty beer bottles. Videos of fire… it’s a mess,” Jisung scrolled through the account, but there was nothing that gave anything away. Until he reached the earlier posts. “Wait, I know that place.”

It was a picture of a courtyard, with a stone bench and a large oak tree. It was autumn, and there were orange leaves covering the ground.

“Things used to be so simple, but here we are. Soon, the leaves won’t be the only gorgeous orange in my sights.” Jisung read the captions with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“What if he’s talking about the fire?” Jeongin asked, looking frightened.

“This must have been before he did anything.” Woojin added, checking the date of the post.

“Me…” Jisung whispered.

“What?” Felix ran his hand up and down his friend’s back, trying to comfort him.

“My hair… before my dad and I moved. It was bright orange… It was supposed to be more of a brown but the dye went weird. Hyuk said he thought it was cute, that I looked like a tangerine because of my cheeks…Oh fuck he’s talking about me, isn’t he?”

“He’s been planning this, but why? You moved. Why was he trying to find you again?” Chan asked no one in particular.

“We have to figure out a way to get him to fuck off.” Minho growled, gripping at the fabric of his pants tightly.

“I have an idea, but I have no idea if it’s going to work.” Chan started, looking around the room.

“Well, you have more of a plan than any of us,” Changbin said with a frown. “Let’s hear what you’re thinking.”

“Okay, so…”

* * *

  
Everything was in place. Felix thought he was going to throw up, but he needed to stay strong for Jisung.

Felix had immediately said no to Chan’s plan, but it was Jisung that chimed in and agreed. Felix tried to fight it, but there was a fire burning in Jisung’s eyes that made the freckled boy reluctantly agree.

“You guys sure you’re okay with this?” Chan came up to the two boys. Felix was messing around in his locker, waiting for the cue.

“I-” Felix was cut off.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Jisung smiled, but Felix could see the anxiety coursing through his body. “Just give us the signal.”

“The bell is going to ring in three minutes,” Chan said seriously. “When you see Minho walk past, you know what to do.”

“Roger.” Jisung grinned, saluting. Chan smiled back, messily rubbing the top of Jisung’s head.

“Good luck you two,” Chan’s smile dropped. “If everything plays out, I already got the stuff for tonight.”

“You really got it?” Felix couldn’t help but ask.

“Enough soju to get us all wasted, along with excuses to skip school tomorrow when we nurse our hangover.” Chan winked and the two younger boys couldn’t help but cheer a little.

“It’s almost time.” Felix’s stomach sank.

“Good luck guys,” Chan held both of their hands. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Fighting.” Jisung grinned.

“Jisung fighting.” Chan grinned back and left, going towards the senior hall. This next part was all them.

“Are you sure you’re sure about this?” Felix asked again, worry gnawing at the pit of his stomach.

“I am if you are.” Jisung’s pinky hooked around Felix’s.

“Jisung, if something goes wrong-”

“Don’t say that.” Jisung cut him off, looking scared.

“Listen,” Felix’s throat started to sting. “If something goes wrong, I wanted you to know that I’m so, so glad we met. You make everything better, and just being around you makes things feel right again. No matter what happens, I need you to know that I- I love you and that I will never, ever regret falling for you.”

“Lix…”

“You’re amazing Jisung. Don’t let anyone dampen your spark, no matter what. No matter what those assholes say or do, you never deserved anything bad that happened to you, and you’ll never, ever deserve anything bad in the future.”

“Felix I love-”

“Fuck, it’s Minho hyung.” Felix’s voice went to being filled with affection to being filled with fear. Minho nodded to them and leaned against the lockers at the end of the hall, looking down at his phone.

“We got this,” Jisung took Felix’s hands in his own. They only had ten seconds. “We have to trust our friends. They won’t let us down. We’re going to be free after this.”

“Jisung…” Felix felt his eyes water. His palms were sweaty and he thought he was going to throw up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of bright red. “It’s time.”

“I love you Felix.” Jisung whispered with a small smile before leaning in and kissing Felix fully in the hallway. Felix leaned into the kiss, adding pressure. Jisung’s hand slipped from his and found its way to Felix’s arm.

Felix flushed when he felt Jisung bite gently at his lower lip.

A cough came from the other side of the hallway. That was their cue. Min had seen them and was heading in their direction, according to plan.

Jisung took Felix by the hand and quicky tugged him down the hall towards the second part of the plan.

The bathroom that they slipped into was notorious for being haunted, and the only people who used it were those who weren’t afraid of spirits and those that had to use the restroom badly enough to overcome their fear.

As expected, the bathroom was silent. The door opening echoed loudly and Felix could swear his heartbeat was loud enough to hear across the tiled room.

“Oh god, what if it doesn’t work-?” Felix’s worry was cut off instantly as the door swung open again.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my two favorite people.” Min’s voice bounced ominously, and Felix prayed the others would be able to finish the plan.

“Hyuk,” Jisung said, his voice boosted with false confidence. “And here I thought I wouldn’t have to see you ever again. I’m disappointed.”

“Now, is that anyway to speak to an old friend?” Min asked, grinning and taking a step forward. “We have a lot to catch up on, don't we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For once in my life I actually have a bunch of idea written down and ready to be written. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this one, the Day6 fic and my astro fic before Christmas, and I can start my other prompts for the new year!


	7. Chapter 7

“I saw what you faggots did in the hallway,” Min said casually, walking over to the mirror and fixing his bangs. “I think it was really brave of you.”

“What?” Felix blanked, not understanding why the taller boy was acting so calm.

“You’re real brave, rubbing your sins in our faces like that,” Min spun around, and the crazed look in his eye made them both take a step back. “You know, the first day I moved here I thought it would be a walk in the park but you… you were different Felix. Your friends were putty in my hands. All I had to do was offer them some expensive shit and they listened to anything I said but you… the moment I saw you…”

“I never did anything to you!” Felix snapped, his eyes darting between Min and the door. Where was Chan?

“I knew the second I saw you that you were a faggot,” Min spat, any false pleasantries gone. “The way you smiled… it make my chest hurt the same way he did!” he pointed at Jisung, who stepped in front of Felix.

“Look, just cuz you have some internal homophobia problems to deal with doesn’t mean you can take it out on us.” Jisung said, his eyebrows furrowing in anger.

“I’M NOT FUCKING GAY!” Min howled , charging at Jisung. Felix managed to push him out of the way just in time to feel Min’s fingers wrap around his throat and slam him against the wall. Felix’s head smacked against the tiles and he gasped. “DON’T FUCKIN SAY I’M FUCKIN GAY YOU FUCKIN FAG.”

Min’s fingers started to tighten and Felix tried to pry himself free, but Min was too strong. Jisung started hitting Min from behind, but it was as if the taller boy didn’t even realize Jisung was there.

“After everything, I was finally going to get back at the fag that ruined my life but you just had to waltz in where you WEREN’T WANTED!”

“How did I ruin your life?” Jisung yelled, trying to get Min to let go of Felix. Felix’s vision was starting to go spotty as he frantically clawed at Min’s hand. “You’re the one that made my mom hate me!”

“After you left…” Min dropped Felix. He slid to the ground, hand covering the finger marks on his throat as he coughed. Jisung rushed to his side. “After you left I couldn’t stop thinking about you… I don’t know how you did it but you fuckin brainwashed me. My dad found out I was thinking sinful thoughts and sent me to the priests.. They tried to fucked the fag out of me but it didn’t work!” He ran his fingers through his fading red hair and tugged hard, his eyes widening. “I kept dreaming of orange, orange, orange… I thought God was sending me a message, to cleanse the church! So I tried burning down the chapel but I was wrong… God wasn’t telling me to cleanse the church, he was telling me to cleanse the world of your sin! You and that horrendous orange hair of yours!”

He grabbed at Jisung, pulling at his hair and ripping him away from Felix, who couldn’t even cry out.

“Let go!” Jisung screamed, trying to kick with all his might.

“Once I get rid of you, everything will be okay again,” Min said, more to himself than to Jisung. “Dad won’t think I’m a disappointment anymore.”

“You’ll always be a disappointment.” Jisung spat at him, twisting enough to make eye contact. Min’s eyes widened in anger and he slammed Jisung’s head against the ground. Felix tried to scream but all that came out was strangled whine. Min lifted Jisung’s head, his thick fingers still laced through the boy’s hair, and Felix could see blood dripping down Jisung’s paling face.

“You fucking freaks… you won’t be able to brainwash anyone ever again!” Min cackled as he slammed Jisung’s head down again. Felix crawled towards them, his throat feeling like Min had shoved a red hot iron down it. He tried to pull Jisung away, but Min flung him across the bathroom like he was nothing more than a paper doll.

Min brought Jisung’s face level to his with a smirk. Jisung’s eyes refused to focus, but he still tried to spit in Min’s face. The taller boy just grinned more and brought Jisung in closer. Felix watched in horror as Min leaned in and kissed Jisung roughly. Jisung tried to fight, but Min’s grip on his hair was still too tight. Min forced his tongue past Jisung’s in a sick replica of the kiss he and Felix had just before.

“No!” Felix managed to croak out when he saw the tears running down Jisung’s cheeks, cutting tracks through the still fresh blood. He threw himself at Min, hoping his whole body weight would be enough to throw him off balance, but all it did was shoot Felix back down onto the ground painfully. Jisung watched with horrified eyes and Min finally broke the kiss.

Min grinned, the blood on his lips from Jisung made the image that much scarier. He dropped Jisung, who collapsed into a pile and didn’t move, and took a step towards Felix.  
Chan wasn’t coming, was he? Felix felt himself sob. The other’s weren’t coming. Min really was going to kill them.

At least they’ll be together when they die…

“Hands up!” A loud voice called just as Felix’s vision went black.

* * *

  
“Get out of our way!” Chan growled as some underclassmen tried to block him and Minho from getting to the main office. Chan promised Felix and Jisung that he would step in with the principle before things got bad, but he couldn’t get the principle if these asshole wouldn’t get out of their way.

“We know you have something planned,” The asshole on the right said with a smirk. “So we’re going to stall you for as long as possible.”

“I’m gonna break their noses.” Woojin breathed, his eyes glinting. Chan put a hand out to stop his friend.

“If we get into a fight, it’ll mess everything up.” Chan whispered back, never taking his eyes off the boys in front of them.

“Don’t worry, we won’t be stalling for long,” The second asshole said, looking smug. God, what Chan would have given to punch the smugness off his face. “Min is going to teach those fags a lesson they won’t ever forget.”

“Not that they’ll be around long to remember.” The first one snickered and Chan’s blood ran cold.

“What do you mean?” He whispered, clenching his fists enough to draw blood.

“I mean, Min is going to get rid of those two fags so no one has to look at them ever again.” The first asshole laughed.

Chan screamed as he punched him in the face. He remembered what his dad always told him about fighting. Never hold your thumb inside your fist, never throw the first punch but always throw the last, punch through whatever your hitting. He only broke one of those rules.

The boy fell with a strangled cry as blood started gushing from his nose. It was definitely broken, but Chan didn’t have time for that. It was already too late - the plan was derailed. There was no time to go to the principle now.

“What’s going on here?” Just then, one of the troopers that guarded the doors came rushing over to see that the commotion was. He took in the sight of the boy, still screaming on the floor, and Chan, tears streaming down his face.

“Officer, they’re going to kill my friends-” Chan rushed over to him, his vision spinning from the fear. “He’s going to kill them-”

“Where are they?” The officer tried to remain calm.

“Boys bathroom, first floor - freshman wing.” Chan choked out, tears flowing faster and faster. He failed Felix and Jisung, and now they were going to be killed.

And it was all Chan’s fault.

The officer rushed in the direction of the bathroom saying something into the walkie talkie on his shoulder. Chan and Woojin followed close behind. They saw Changbin and Minho waiting for their signal. They were in charge of rounding the others up after, if things went well. One look from Chan and they knew things weren’t going well.

As they got closer, they could hear raised voices and muffled sounds coming from the bathroom.

“Oh my god…” Chan thought he was going to faint. They were too late.

“I need back up,” The officer said again, pulling his gun. He threw open the door and pointed it at the one person standing. “Hands up!”

Min didn’t move at first. He stared at Felix, who was staring over his shoulder at the officer with disbelief.

“I said hands up!” The officer said again, and Min slowly turned around as he raised his hands in the air. When the officer saw the blood on his mouth, the man’s face hardened.

He rushed forward and pinned Min against the wall, he belted his gun as he pulled out his handcuffs and forced the boy’s hands behind his back. “You have the right to remain silent-”

Jisung couldn’t move but he could see everything that was happening. He could see Felix, passed out on the floor. The freckled boy looked dead, and it made Jisung wish he was too. He had never seen Felix so pale or still, his chest barely moving. A second officer burst into the bathroom and took in the situation. Within seconds, the paramedics were called in. Jisung felt hands on him but he desperately tried to fight them off.

“No… no!” Jisung cried weakly, but his body wasn’t listening to him.

“It’s okay son, we’re gonna take good care of you,” A man’s voice said softly. Jisung could feel Min’s tongue still in his mouth and he wanted to sob, but he was too tired. “We need you to stay awake, okay? You can’t fall asleep.”

“Felix-” Jisung choked, hot tears running down his cheeks.

“Your friend is going to be just fine too.” The paramedic said as he lifted Jisung onto a stretcher. He tried to be careful, but he could tell the boy had a bad concussion.

“Jisung! Felix!” Chan cried from outside the bathroom. Woojin had to hold him back when the officer walked Min out, the australian boy ready to lunge and rip Min’s head off his shoulders.

“They’re going to be okay.” The officer said to Chan and Woojin. The others were running up, confused and scared. They didn’t know what was going on. All they knew was that the plan had gone wrong, but when they saw Felix and Jisung being wheeled out, covered in blood and bruises, they started crying.

It had gone so, so wrong.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t come with us,” The paramedic said sadly. “You’re underage, and we can’t let you leave school premises unless you’re a blood relative-”

“Felix is my cousin!” Chan said quickly, not caring that it was a little bit of a lie. He needed to be there. “And I’m nineteen. Please let me go with you.”

“Ah, alright but the rest of them will have to meet you at the hospital.”

“Call your parents,” Chan said, turning to the remaining six boys. “Get to the hospital as soon as you can. We’re going to be there the second they wake up.”

“Chan hyung, go!” Jeongin said through his tears. “They’re leaving.”

Chan nodded and rushed after the paramedics. He made it to the ambulance just in time to hop in the back with Felix, who was already starting to gain consciousness.

“Hyung..?” Felix’s voice was deep and scratchy, and it cut Chan to the core. “Where’s… where’s Jisung? Is he okay? Oh my god-”

Felix started panicking, fighting against the restraints. The nurse rushed to his side and pricked him with a needle. Felix’s eyes started to drift shut before he fell limp.

“W-what did you do to him?” Chan asked in horror.

“I had to sedate him,” She said calmly. “If he kept fighting the restraints, he could have gotten more injured. Don’t worry, it’ll wear off before we get to the operating room.”

“Operating room…?” Chan felt his stomach drop.

“We have to make sure there was no damage to his vocal chords,” She said, sounding a little sad. “Just sit back, we’ll be there soon. You’ll have to wait in the waiting room once we get there, but we’ll keep you updated as much as we can.”

“Okay…” Chan turned to Felix and took his small, limp hand in his own. “It’s gonna be okay Lixie. You’re gonna be just fine.” He said in English, hoping maybe Felix could still hear him.

* * *

  
Jisung was in pain. That’s the first thing he noticed. His head felt like it had been cracked open and his brains had been scrambled. He struggled to open his eyes, and when he did he instantly closed them again. The faint light from the room made everything worse.

“How are you feeling?” Chan asked in English, but it sounded far away. Jisung didn’t question why his hyung was speaking in his native language and tried to work up the energy to answer when he heard another voice that made his stomach drop.

“Like crap,” Felix chuckled, his voice deeper than Jisung ever heard it. “The doc said there was some damage to my throat, so it’ll take some time before my voice sounds normal again, but the bruising should go away soon.”

“You sound hot Lixie. People are gonna be fighting for your attention with that voice,” Chan chuckled. “Minho will probably be first in that line.”

“Ah, sorry in advance to Minho hyung but I like someone else.” Felix said, his smile evident in his voice.

“Would this person happen to have round cheeks and a love for shitty anime?”

“Maybe…”

“You’re good for him,” The joking tone was gone from Chan’s voice, replaced with something softer. “It might not seem like it right now, but you are. You’re good for each other.”

“Have you gotten any sleep?”

“Nah, but that’s nothing new. What about you?”

“Nightmares… I haven’t been able to sleep for more than an hour at a time…”

“It’ll be okay Lix. You’ll heal up and Jisung will be released and it’ll be normal again.”

“It’s been almost two days…” Felix sniffled and Jisung wanted to tell the other boy not to cry. “What if he doesn’t wake up?”

“He will,” Chan promised. “Our Jisunggie is a fighter. He won’t let this keep him down.”

“I miss him…” Felix started crying, and Jisung felt heat run down his own cheeks. He wanted to call out, but his head hurt so badly. He drifted back into the numb darkness, where nothing could hurt him.

* * *

  
“About time,” A nurse said when Jisung opened his eyes next. His head hurt a little less - it felt more like he had his head slammed in a door rather than having his brains stirred with a stick. “Any longer and we were going to have to hook up different equipment.”

“How long..?” Jisung’s voice gave out before he could finish his sentence.

“You’ve been in and out of consciousness for about four days,” She said as she started checking his vitals. “You have a pretty nasty concussion, but scans say you’re healing nicely. Now that you’re awake, things will go a little faster, but you’re going to have to stay here for a little while longer, to make sure there isn’t any lasting damage.”

“Where’s Felix?” Jisung asked, looking to the bed next to his, but it was empty.

“Lee Felix? He was released yesterday, though he’s been in the waiting room since then,” She said with a fond smile. “In fact, there are quite a few people in the waiting room for you. I’ll tell the doctor that you’re awake, and after he gives you the go you can have guests come visit you.”

“Okay…” Jisung said numbly. What happened? The last thing he really remembered was Min walking towards Felix, who was slumped on the ground. There were faint memories of voices talking, but he wasn’t entirely sure those were real.

The doctor came in quickly and ran more tests, smiling when Jisung give the answers he had been hoping for.

“You’re a strong boy, Jisung,” He said, writing something in his notes. “You took quite the beating, but you’re recovering wonderfully. Let’s keep you for another two nights for observation, and on that third day we’ll talk and see if you’re okay to be released.”

“My friends… are they still here?”

“Those boys haven’t left the waiting room since you were brought in. The one with the curly hair convinced them to go home and rest every once in a while though.”

“Chan hyung… can I see them? Please?” Jisung tried to sit up but flopped back down when the room started spinning.

“As long as you don’t push yourself,” The doctor agreed. “Visitation ends in three hours, but if you feel tired before that feel free to kick them out for the evening. You’re the one recovering, so you have to listen to what your body tells you.”

“Yes sir.” Jisung said, knowing he wasn’t going to let his friends go any sooner than necessary.

Ten minutes later, there was a knock on his door. He called for them to come in, but his voice was weak. Chan pushed the door open and greeted Jisung with the biggest smile the boy had ever seen on his friend’s face.

“Hey Jisunggie, how are you feeling?” Chan asked as the eight boys filed into the room.

“Like I got my head slammed in a door but other than that, just peachy.” He said with a small smile, causing snickers to come from around the room.

“We won’t stay long cuz you must be exhausted, but we wanted to stop in and see how you’re doing,” Woojin sat on the edge of Jisung’s bed. “The doctor said you could be coming home soon.”

“Yeah, if they say I’m healing well enough I could be released in three days.” Jisung said, eyes scanning the room. His whole body relaxed when he saw who he was looking for.

Felix smiled back at him, and Jisung felt as if he could never be hurt again. There was purple and blue bruising around his throat, but his eyes were sparkling as though he was looking at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Jisung realized Felix was indeed looking at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen - he was looking at Jisung.

“You look like shit hyung.” Jeongin said as he placed a teddy bear with a balloon wrapped around its wrist on the chair next to Jisung’s bed.

“Wow, thanks Jeongin. You’re looking quite shitty yourself, which means you look the same as usual.” Jisung snarked back, causing everyone to laugh. A sarcastic Jisung was a good sign.

“I’m glad you’re awake,” Felix moved to sit on the other side of the bed. He took Jisung’s hand in his, careful of the IV coming from it. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” Jisung smiled softly and leaned over to rest his forehead against Felix’s.

“Why don’t we let them catch up?” Chan suggested, already herding the younger boys towards the door. “Changbin and Woojin can drive you all home. I’ll wait for Felix, yeah?”

“I won’t be long hyung.” Felix said, not taking his eyes off Jisung. He missed the smirk Chan sent his way.

“Take your time,” Chan said with a smirk. “I don’t have plans tonight. Plus, I’m sure there’s a lot you and Sunggie have to talk about.” He closed the door after him, leaving Jisung and Felix alone in the hospital room.

“I really, really missed you.” Felix said, sounding close to tears. He tried pulling back but Jisung was quicker. He moved forward and placed a gentle kiss to Felix’s lips.

“I’m so sorry,” Jisung, didn’t bother fighting back his tears. “You got hurt because of me.”

“I got hurt because I love you, and I would have fought anyone for you,” Felix corrected, cupping Jisung’s cheek in his hand. The other boy leaned into the touch and sighed happily. “I’m just so happy you’re okay.”

“Felix… what happened when I was out?” Jisung almost didn’t want to know the answer.

“Well, Min was arrested and will be having a trial in the next few months. Apparently he has a lot more than just a case of arson and two cases of assault against him. My two ex friends that sided with him were expelled for aiding in attempted… attempted murder.” Felix’s voice dropped with Jisung’s stomach.

They might have been fine at that moment, but the reality was Min tried to kill them. Actually tried to murder them, for being gay and for making him question himself.

“He almost killed us…” Jisung said with a shocked laugh.

“I can’t wrap my head around it either….” Felix sighed. “The school gave us off for a whole month to recover. Chan and the others said they would bring the work we miss and help us catch up if we need it.”

“Felix…” Jisung whispered, still trying to comprehend the fact that he almost lost the person he cared for the most.

“Yeah?” Felix asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. Jisung’s heart jumped in his chest at the sight.

“Come here?”

Felix leaned in and Jisung connected their lips again. Felix was real. He was real and he was alive and he was okay and he was there with Jisung and Jisung was actually kissing him. He was kissing a boy that wanted to kiss him back. Felix brought his hand back up and cupped Jisung’s cheek, deepening the kiss. Jisung felt his heart race as Felix opened his mouth a fraction, letting Jisung in.

“Shit!” They broke apart when Jisung’s heart monitor started beeping loudly. Within seconds, a nurse was opening the door with a concerned look on her face. The second she saw how close the two boys were sitting and how red their faces were, her look of concern faded to a knowing smirk.

“Han-ssi, I suggest waiting until you aren’t hooked up to a heart monitor to greet your boyfriend like that.” She said with a giggle. Jisung somehow managed to flush even redder and Felix tried scooting farther down the bed. She excused herself, but not before shaking her head good naturedly at them.

“I guess I’ll have to wait until you’re released to kiss you like I want.” Felix said easily, though the blush on his freckled cheeks gave him away.

“Guess I’ll have to get better as soon as possible.” Jisung couldn’t contain the grin that stretched across his face.

“Guess you will.” Felix giggled and pecked him on the nose, laughing more when Jisung tried to hide his face in embarrassment.

“I meant it, what I said before.” Jisung said after a few moments of a comfortable silence.

“Me too,” Felix smiled softly, his eyes shining brightly. “I love you, Han Jisung.”

“I love you too, Lee Felix.” Jisung felt giddy saying it. After everything he had been through, he found someone he could love - found someone that could love him back. Felix took his hand, and in that moment, Jisung felt whole again.

* * *

  
“A toast, to the returning champions! They survived a perilous journey and have returned to the kingdom as heros!” Chan said, passing out the last of the small green bottles. It was Saturday, almost a full month after Jisung’s release from the hospital. He wanted to make sure everyone could participate in the revelries. Jisung had been a little late because of his therapists appointment - the doctor made him appointments after seeing the state of his leg. He did the same for Felix after the nurse rebandaged his arm. They were getting better, at talking about their nightmares and not hiding it from everyone. Both Jisung and Felix were still clean, thanks to Chan and the others making sure they were never alone for too long.

Now that everyone was together, it was time to celebrate.

“To Jisung! To Felix!” The room cheered, cracking open their bottles and starting the party. Jisung held Felix’s hand tight as he drank from his bottle, laughing at the disgusted look on his boyfriend’s face.

“Not your go to?” Jisung teased.

“I’m more of a wine bitch.” Felix wrinkled his nose but took another sip nonetheless. Jisung laughed but didn’t take his eyes off Felix.

Every day since he was released, he made a point to memorize another thing about Felix so he would never forget anything they had.

“What are you staring at?” Felix asked with a chuckle. Jisung wasn’t embarrassed, nor did he look away. He just smiled lovingly at Felix and pressed a soft kiss to the back of his hand.

“You.” he answered honestly, causing Felix to blush.

“You’re so cute.” He giggled, leaning in and kissing Jisung’s nose.

“Get a room!” Minho whined from the couch, already halfway through his bottle.

“You think we won’t after this is done?” Jisung spun around and stuck his tongue out at Minho, who stuck out his tongue in retaliation.

“You’re children though?” Changbin said, sounding scandalized.

“As long as they’re safe about it,” Chan didn’t sound bothered at all. “Plus I trust them, unlike some people in this room.”

“What does that mean?” Several voices screamed at once.

“I want more pizza.” Jisung whispered to Felix, who smiled and walked with his boyfriend into the kitchen where the leftover food was laid out.

“I love you.” Felix smiled as he kissed the other boy. Jisung melted into the kiss, looping his arms around Felix’s neck.

“I love you more,” he giggled into the kiss, sighing happily as Felix’s tongue darted into his mouth. The freckled boy had kept true to his promise of kissing Jisung the right way, and it made his knees weak every time. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“I dunno,” Felix moved Jisung so his back was against the counter. “You were you. That’s all you ever had to do.”

“I’m so lucky to have you.” Jisung grinned as he stole another kiss.

“I think I’m the lucky one.” Felix laughed, gently kissing Jisung’s neck.

“When I said get a room, this iSN’T WHAT I MEANT.” Minho’s voice rang from the entry of the kitchen.  
Jisung laughed and ducked under Felix’s arms, going to Minho and throwing his arms around the older boy to bother him. Felix watched with a smile. He really was the luckiest person alive, wasn’t he?

Jisung looked back at him with such adoration that Felix found himself falling in love all over again.

“Come on Lixie, they're starting a movie!” Jisung said excitedly, going over to the other boy and pulling him to the living room, where their friends were already gathered.

Felix let Jisung wrap his arms around him and snuggled into his boyfriend’s warmth. Looking around, he realized that things really were okay.

They made it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I based the cop at the school from my own high school. IDK how other schools handle security, but we always had at least one cop on duty. 
> 
> Secondly, I'm real emotional ending this one. I had a good time writing it. it was only supposed to be 2-3 chapters but it just seemed to write itself. I'm so grateful to everyone who's been keeping up with this and who have been commenting. I know it's sad to see a fic end, but keep an eye on my profile because I'll be posting a ton more hurt/comfort content for various bands in the near future!

**Author's Note:**

> This is definitely different from most of the other fics that I've written. I try to be mores subtle about things, but I felt going with the obnoxiously blunt bullying would work best with this plot.


End file.
